Vexed
by mirthfully.morbid
Summary: The War changed everybody and everything. Ex nemesis Potioneer Draco & Ministry Official Hermione are teamed up on a top-secret mission for the Ministry. When a spell goes awfully wrong and sends the duo back to the 19th Century, will they be able to survive pretending to be married and save the world in time? EWE, Post-Hogwarts
1. Nightmares

_**A/N**_

 _ **This is my first Dramione fanfic, rather my first fanfic ever that am posting. I have read millions of Fanfics on , Hawthorne and Vine and Wattpad. Saying that I am obsessed with Fanfics and Dramione would be the understatement of the century. I am so involved that am trying to write a research paper on fanfics and trying to give the genre its due.**_

 _ **If you guys enjoy this story, do let me know. And if you feel I could do with some improvement, let me know definitely!  
All kind of feedback is welcome!**_

 _ **XOXO  
Mili**_

It was happening again. They were again on the run. Fenrir Greyback was at their heels. He could smell their fresh blood and that served as his encouragement. His growls and pants were getting louder. He was getting closer.

In no time they would either be bitten like Lavender Brown or be torn off to shreds like the scores of other muggle borns that had served as his dinner or entertainment during the war.

The forest stretched ahead indefinitely and how long could their legs carry them before Greyback caught up with them, they didn't know.

The Moon was shining through the thick foliage of trees that almost reached up to the sky casting long shadows that reminded one of the Dementors.  
Fenrir was catching up. There was no point in trying to outrun him anymore, the quicker he got over it, the better it was.

They heard him pounce on them with a growl.

Draco awoke with a start. Another nightmare. He realised he was sweating profusely. After casting a quick charm, he sat on the edge of the bed. These nightmares were becoming a menace even five years after the war.  
He sat with his head held in his hands. They always gave him a massive headache. It was always someone who was chasing him, either it was Fenrir, or some Dementors or the Dark Lord himself. It made Draco feel like it was _karma_ coming back at him. Blaise always joked that Draco secretly had BDSM fetishes and just wanted to be captured and ravished. But the reality was he knew what happened to those who got captured during the war. He saw what happened to them. And because of the sick perversion that had entered Lucius Malfoy's mind during the war, Draco had also been made to be a part of the tortures inflicted.

The choice was simple, really.

Torture or be tortured.

Everybody knew the Slytherin Prince to be quite selfish, whereas the fact was all this while he was scared. For himself and his family. At least he deeply cared for his mother Narcissa Malfoy. His father he couldn't be bothered with anymore. The father he knew, appreciated and idolised was long gone.

Draco checked the time and saw that it was a half past two. "Another night's sleep ruined", he thought grudgingly. He got up to drink some water and caught his reflection in the mirror in the hallway. He had deep purple rings around his eyes which were telltale of his troubled nights. He had grown up into a man over the years. He was broader and more muscular with his years of training, yet there was something about him that said he was tired. Something in his eyes which said it wasn't a lack of sleep, but the fact that it was his soul that was tired.

He had tried some potions to help with the sleep. It was scary how dependent one could become. He had a phase where he almost wished that he could take a dreamless sleep potion and sleep forever. He knew right then that he had to make a choice between braving the nightmares and picking up the pieces of his life or being put next to the senior Longbottoms in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungos.

He was a Malfoy in the end, the need to salvage whatever was left of the Malfoy name won over the calm tranquillity of insanity and sleep. It sure was tempting, though, to simply give into insanity, like his mother had.

While in another part of magical London, Butterbeer purred and curled right on top of her owner's curly mop of hair. After all, cats own their humans, not the other way round. The previously bushy haired girl barely stirred in her sleep. The dreamless sleep potion having knocked her out for the night.

She wasn't an addict. No, thank you. She was still very much the Brightest Witch of her Age and the Gryffindor Princess everyone knew her to be. She was fierce, brave and loyal. Loyal to a fault in fact. But sometimes, there was a crack in all that was brilliant about the young witch. And now the cracks were starting to run deeper, cause more harm that the girl realised.

She felt more lonely than ever. She had her best friends and an almost adoptive family in the Weasley's. Harry and Ginny Weasely loved to have the Godmother of their firstborn over for dinner often enough. Molly Weasley still insisted that she join them for the Weekly Weasley Lunch. Neville and Professor McGonagall always welcomed her to take a few guest lectures at Hogwarts. Luna and the Patil twins also stayed in touch. Luna more than the sisters. Lavender would see them when she was around and the full moon was nowhere in sight.  
Andromeda and Teddy were equally fond of her and she occasionally babysat the child whenever Andromeda had to be away for some work.  
Hermione was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her back. But she still felt lonely. No matter what she did, she could not relate to them. This was the reason that the Golden Couple or rather her and Ron had had a fallout three years back after two years of a relationship. It had started rather wonderfully. Everybody knew they were set to marry right after Ginny and Harry. Hermione wanted to have a family, but she wanted to know what she wanted to do in life. There was so much that was on her mind- SPEW, other creatures that were overlooked, Muggle rights, archaic pureblood laws, war orphans, casualties, etc. She had a bleeding heart, but Ron felt they had done their share of bleeding already and now it was time to sit back and enjoy the fame and life that they got after the war.

Ron was good at heart, he even tried to help her start SPEW on a larger level, but he was trying to make their relationship work, not to make SPEW work. He would always agree with her, never give any actual inputs and as much knowledge Hermione had accumulated over the years, it would not have harmed to get a reality check every now and then. After all, he was born in this world and she wasn't. She knew he was trying, but she realised he was probably the best bestfriend she could have asked for and sadly that was it. They weren't suited to be a match. It sounded all perfect as a 16-year-old in a world on the verge of a war with no sight of tomorrow.

But now that real life was kicking in, she wasn't so sure. So she decided to pick up the pieces of her life and brave the nightmares alone, with some dreamless sleep potion, of course. Not that anyone knew about it.


	2. The Drill

As her wand started buzzing a few odd hours later, Hermione woke up grumbling about another day to be out of bed. She could not wait for the weekends where she could hide in her house and read all day to her heart's content except for the occasional meals that she shared with her friends.

She got out of her bed and petted Butterbeer who was showing discontent at the loss of her pillow. Hermione missed Crookshanks at times. That old cat knew when to not be a needy greed feline. Butterbeer on the other end wanted attention all around the clock.

She dragged herself to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea while she mulled over what to wear for work that day. She had a meeting with the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and even though he was an old friend, she knew the importance of putting up appearances to keep others out of her hair.

She gulped down the Earl Grey in a very unlady like manner and made a dash for the shower.

Dressed in a pale pink silk blouse and a sensible grey pencil skirt that reached her knees, she gave a last satisfactory glance at her hair, which she had learnt to tame over the years. In another ten minutes, she was off to the Ministry via the Floo.

No matter how troubled he was, a Malfoy could never look anything less than perfect. This had been drilled into him ever since he could remember having thoughts. Also, he did know the effect he had on women and it did not hurt to have distractions every now and then. He wasn't into the casual sex scene as shamelessly as his best mate Blaise was, but he did enjoy an occasional interlude between the sheets.

Draco decided to go for a white shirt, beige pants and a green silk tie, which reminded him of his Slytherin days. Fond memories flooded him at the thought, but almost immediately he cringed as he was reminded of the summer before his sixth year. He had done a lot of things that plagued him day and night. He had forgiven a lot of people, but he was yet to forgive himself.

He quickly cast a slight glamour charm to hide the purple bags under his eyes as he left for the day.

He had inherited not only the Malfoy fortune after his father's death in Azkaban two years back; he had also inherited vast industries and properties. None of which held any charm for him.

Malfoy manor was home for Narcissa, so he stripped the floors and walls bare and redid the entire Manor. It burnt a hole right through his inheritance, but he could not imagine anyone living in that palace of nightmares, least of all his mother. His mother was forgiven after the war for helping the Chosen One. Potter had spoken in Malfoy's favour at his trial, even went on to explain what had happened in the Astronomy Tower in their sixth year. Draco had half expected for Potter and his friends to mock him and expect gratitude from him for the rest of his life. However, no such thing happened. Harry and Ron joined the Aurors after the war and quickly rose up in ranks. Earlier Draco would have said that Potty and Weaselbee were just pulling in favours, but he knew better now. He knew it was more skill than favour.

Hermione was the only one from the Golden Trio to have gone back to finish her seventh year at Hogwarts. Draco had also gone back, more to hide from the public eye than anything else. Living with a senile mother in a house full of terrors wasn't exactly his ideal way of life. Plus, Hogwarts was always his home.

He was often ridiculed and looked down upon during his last year and quite rightfully so. However, Head Girl Hermione Granger had stood up for him strangely.

"We can't have people thinking so lowly of the Head Boy, can we?" She had often said with a reassuring smile. He had often wondered back then that how would it feel to be one of her boys, to be so fiercely protected, loved and even corrected so often. He had almost chuckled at that thought.

He did realise something about the Brightest Witch of our Age though, she was compassionate to a fault and believed that we all had a good side inherently. She would have probably thought there was a way to 'fix' the Dark Lord had it not been for the Horcruxes and him being born of the effects of Amortentia. And he knew deep down, that she would have made it possible.

He had deep respect for her, but he had never really voiced it. He occasionally went back to being annoyed towards her, but now it was more of a playful banter than scornful bullying.

The fact that she had grown into a beautiful and brilliant woman only added to her charm. And of course, no matter the experience the Slytherin Prince had in the sack, the one experience he thrived on secretly was a stolen kiss they had shared at the Yule Ball that was held to mark new beginnings and complete restoration of Hogwarts during their seventh year. They were both drunk on butterbeer and firewhiskey, but the memory was vivid and etched onto his mind forever. It was one of those treasures he savoured and if possible would have put in a crystal ball as a keepsake for that one moment in his life, where he felt like a new person.

He didn't know if Hermione remembered kissing him and he dare not bring it up and destroy whatever progress the two had made over the years. Kissing Hermione Granger was something he had never thought himself capable of doing, not because of her bloodline, but because she was the prized War Heroine and was one of the most hated Ex-Death Eater. Kissing her had given him a glimpse into a life, a happier and much simpler life, he could have had, had he not been born into a pureblood line full of prejudice based on nothing but fragile pride.

He was now trying to build that simpler life for himself. He was content living in his own apartment near Diagon Alley and he even though he still overlooked most of his inherited companies, he let the board of governors make most of the decisions. He had opened the companies for public funding. The war-hit nation could do with some good investments. It was his way of paying back.

He had opened his own company that dealt in potions of all kinds. He himself headed the research team. His marks in Potions were not entirely based on favouritism by his Godfather. He actually like the subject with a passion. Post-war, he had immersed himself in trying to figure out better healing potions for the victims. He even decided to learn and use muggle therapy techniques and created mind healing potions that used lucid dreaming to help those whose minds were scarred.

Harry had been a great support and so had Hermione. Ron was still wary of him and still threw the occasional death eater jab at him. Hermione had often mentioned of the Longbottoms and of Neville's suffering. So now he was working on a potion to help them.


	3. The Minister's Office

The Ministry was buzzing with activity. The Floo network was busy with the employees rushing into work. Hermione quickly made her way to the Minister's office.  
No one dare stop her and ask her for an ID, but she was Hermione, she insisted on being checked as thoroughly. What if she was just a Polyjuice version after all?

At ten, she was knocking on the door marked 'Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic'.

"Ah! Hermione, have a seat, I am sorry, but the meeting will have to be delayed. An expert that needed to be called in for the meeting hasn't been contacted yet. A new secretary, you see. No one is as efficient as good old Brie was." The Minister smiled.

Brie was the secretary to the Minister for years, probably centuries. She looked that old. She had passed away because of a fall she had from chasing a pair of nifflers around her house. Merlin bless her soul.

The room was far more comfortable in ambience than it had been with the previous Ministers. It looked like it belonged to a man far more approachable than its previous inhabitants. A fact that stood true not just for the Minister himself but the Ministry as well. The Ministry post war had become more open about its operations and was more willing to take advice from the public.

Hermione made herself comfortable in one of the plush armchairs facing the Minister's desk. She looked around the office as the Minister discussed something with his secretaries in hushed urgent tones. He had owled her a week back to set up an urgent meeting regarding some unusual disturbances. She just knew that some expert was to join them for the meeting. As of now, she could see no one else in the room.

Draco Malfoy was the kind who turned into a irritated child if his daily routine was disturbed. He thrived on the stability of his routine. So, when in the morning his secretary came into his office to announce that the Minister had summoned him urgently, he became irritated. He knew it must have been important, but to be called in without any prior notice wasn't Malfoy's style.

At fifteen minutes past ten, he was rapping sharply on the Minister's door. He tried his best to look and behave less irritable than he felt, but up till now he had failed in his efforts.

As soon as the door opened, he noticed the Minister talking to his secretaries. He looked a little angry with them. Next his gaze followed the mop of caramel curls on the brunette's head.

"Malfoy?" Hermione's eyebrows shot up as her lips curved into a smile of recognition. Draco walked up to her and gave her his signature smirk and a firm handshake as he settled down in an armchair that mirrored hers.

The Minister joined them a few minutes later as his secretaries left in a rush with crestfallen faces.

"You sure were angry with them?" Hermione enquired.

"They forgot to owl Mister Malfoy the day I asked them to. I am sure it has caused him a lot of inconvenience to be here today on such a short notice for which I apologise." Shacklebolt said as he settled down in his chair.

He pushed a folder with 'Classified' stamped over it towards the duo, across the table. They both looked at him and then each other with a quizzical look. Each looked as clueless as the other.

"Minister, am not sure I understand? Is this something I should be aware of?" Hermione's curious nature kicked in.

Malfoy's heart rate had picked up, he was sure he was summoned for more information on the Dark Lord's remaining followers.

"Well actually no one understands and that's why you both have been called in. I am sure you both have heard of the Marshalnds? The ones ahead of the Forbidden Forest, towards the South?" Hermione nodded eagerly. She had read very little about the place. It was always just mentioned in passing. The only detailed accounts she had heard was when she was reading about will-o'-wisps in the magical world.

Malfoy had heard enough stories of voyages where sailors lost their way because of will-o'-wisps. He knew the more you knew about them and the lesser you saw them, the better it was. Growing up in a magical household had its advantages. You have access to more than just folklores and fairy tales.

"The Marshlands are famous for the will-o'-wisps that they have. They are often known for being the cause of many capable individuals drowning themselves because of how captivating they are. We have always had them, and anyone who ventures into the area often knows about them or is warned. The last known case of a victim falling prey to them was last seen back in the 1970s. A lunatic vagabond who probably ventured there without any thought." Said the Minister, encouraging Hermione to open the folder.

As Hermione opened the folder to study it, Malfoy felt relief wash over himself. This had nothing to do with him, the Dark Lord or the remaining Death Eaters. Which brought him to the question, "So why did you call us in Minister?"

Shacklebolt smiled and leaned against the desk, "You both don't miss anything, do you? Well you are both experts in your field. Miss Granger here has been researching about magical creatures and wilderness for their betterment and works for the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She obviously has the best knowledge in this field, especially with her researching skills that the entire wizarding Britain is aware of." He passed a smile to Hermione who was too busy reading the folder to pay any attention to him.

"While you, Mister Malfoy, have clearly shown your skill with potions of all kinds. And you both have occasionally helped the Ministry with previous cases, both on-field and off-field. The thing is that suddenly, over the past two months, there have been at least seven individuals found in or around the Marshlands. And all were dead and not of natural circumstances or of the usual drowning. They were not even cursed with any kind of magical spell. They were just simply dead. No curse, no trace."

"I understand why Granger would be needed. Why would you need me? Am sorry, am still not clear Minister."

For a change Hermione was as confused as Draco and they both shared worried looks as they prompted the Minister for more answers.

"See the thing is, that there are traces of something in their body. It could be a potion as we suspect. And well…their blood is frozen. Almost as if it just froze in time inside the body. It's not cold or solid, just frozen in motion."

Hermione gasped and Draco did a double take. This was the weirdest thing that either of them had ever heard. And this was considering that they had both fought and survived in the Second Wizarding War.

"But, but Minister how is that possible? And…take this Malfoy, take a look at the victims in this folder…you possibly don't think it's a creature, do you?"

Malfoy took the folder from her. As he scanned through it, he realised that three of the victims were absolutely unidentified. There were no public records of them anywhere. They even wore strange robes almost as if they were from another era.

Malfoy made a mental note of it all, after all he did not expect Hermione to be updated with trends in wizard robes through the ages.

"It could be a creature or a very smart wizard or even both. To find out which one it is, is why we need you both. Miss Granger you are employed with the Ministry so you will be relieved of your other duties while you work on this assignment. Whereas for you, Mister Malfoy, you can certainly decline the offer to work on this case. In case you happen to decline, we will have to _Obliviate_ you of course, to maintain the confidentiality of the case. I am aware that monetary compensation is not rewarding for you, but I can offer less licensing and permission hassles for your venture. The Ministry will have minimum interference with the work you do for your potions till the time you keep us updated timely."

Malfoy took a second before he said, "So I could say no?" He had spent his final year at Hogwarts working under the Head Girl, Hermione. She had taken up the cause of telling others to not treat him like a Death Eater despite the fact that she herself was unsure. He did not mind being her 'subject', but he might not love books as crazily as she did, but he knew his share of things. And as much as he respected her, there was only so much of that prude know-it-all attitude that he could take. It still was as insufferable as it was back in his first year.

He discreetly stole a sideways glance at Hermione who seemed to be too busy checking her hand and stealing glimpses of him. He wasn't sure if she would be comfortable working with him. But he needed a distraction and this distraction could also prove to be a brilliant chance to redeem the Malfoy name. He decided he might as well take the chance. If things got out of hand, he would simply have to request to be out off the case.

"I will do it if Granger is okay with it." He almost mumbled. The Minister was surprised at the Malfoy heir's thoughtfulness. He had never known him to put others before himself. Harry did mention that he had changed tremendously, so maybe he had been right about the boy. He really had changed.

"I do have my reservations about working with him, not because of what happened during the war, but because two highly functioning minds cannot be a good idea in one room. But we need to do what has to be done. And Malfoy you can stop smirking, it wasn't a compliment." She said turning towards the blonde and smirking.

Shacklebolt smiled at the two and duplicated the folder. "Here are your copies. The Ministry has the original records that you may access if need be, along with all the belongings of the victims. You can study them at home if you had like. You will be assigned two Aurors to work with you onsite and seeing the sensitivity of the case I have asked Harry to oversee the case himself with another capable auror of his choice. Also, Miss Granger, you will be assigned a room of your own to work in within your existing department. We heard you are being rather troubled by one of your co-workers. We don't want him to be a deterrent after all. Also, you may keep the room once this case winds up. Consider it as a hard earned perk for all you have done for creatures over the years."

He turned towards Hermione and gave her an amused look.

Hermione couldn't understand that how on Earth did Shacklebolt know about the constant refusal of Cormac McLaggen to understand the meaning of the word 'no'. He asked her out for coffee almost daily and after a polite yes to one, she had been saying no constantly. She had even resorted to working from the women's loo on occasion to hide from him.

They both took their leave from the Minister's office and towards the Dept. of Regulation and Control on Magical Creatures. She would be lying if she said she wasn't giddy about having her very own office. They got a few odd looks, but both were used to that kind of attention.

As Hermione finally had brought in the last pile of papers from her old desk, with Malfoy following suit, she settled into the comfortable chair and grinned to herself.

"So who was it troubling you?" Malfoy said. He was leaning against the desk with one elbow and a smirk plastered over his face. Sweat glistened over his porcelain like face. Hermione almost lost her chain of thoughts. The heat and work load was doing weird things to her mind.

It took her a while to say '"McLaggen."

Malfoy almost laughed and moved towards the door,"Figures. I'll be back with some tea for the two of us after owling my secretary to postpone all my meetings until after late afternoon. You want anything with your tea? Cakes?"

Hermione simply blushed and asked him to bring a few cookies if he could.


	4. Dead Ends

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **So now that the plot is more or less established, I thought it would be good to get started with their chemistry a bit. ;)**_

 _ **Hope you like it!  
**_

 _ **-Mili**_

"This is a dead end!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed with a frustrated groan.

Malfoy couldn't help notice that the brunette was becoming more and more vocal and irritable with each passing second that they spent locked up in the office with parchments upon parchments lying on the table; none of which seemed to hold any clue about either the victims or the happenings.

"Apart from the obvious, is there anything particular you are looking for?" Malfoy asked trying to sound as patient as possible, his own endurance bordering on the edge.

Hermione looked up from her parchment with a scowl that obviously meant that it was intended to tell Malfoy that she thought he was a daft idiot.

"Uhh…what I meant was if we are looking for anything apart from the recent unusual happenings of the vicinity of the Marshlands and the whereabouts of the unidentified victims. Anything specific that might have struck a chord with you? You are the research expert from what I have heard after all." Malfoy knew it was better to keep her feeling calm with some flattery rather than take on her fury, no matter how tempting that might have seemed. He knew when to save his own hide; he was a Slytherin after all.

The sudden disguised compliment made Hermione feel a little surprised. Draco Malfoy was many things, a flatterer he wasn't and neither was he anything but civil or annoying to Hermione Granger after all. What was bothering her the most was her own lack of knowledge about the subject, all she knew were the muggle stories of will-o'-wisps. She had always prided herself regarding her knowledge and reasoning skills and yet here was a topic she had completely overlooked in her years as a witch. She felt a little flustered if she was to be honest, but she would never admit that to Malfoy. Obviously.

But her own share of embarrassment could not come in the way of the investigation. So, she decided to use a little of the Slytherin cunningness that she possessed with the Gryffindor bravery that she had to pry the information out of Malfoy.

"Would there be anything you know of it that I might not? Something that you heard as a story as a child, perhaps? You grew up in a wizard household so there must be something that you already know and I don't. So?"

Hermione had very carefully framed her question, making his bloodline and heritage an advantage clearly would make him feel superior, not that he did not feel that way already. On a usual basis, Hermione would have gone out of her way to get him off the pedestal he puts himself on, but she felt the need to extend an arm of civility as he had if they were to find any leads for the case.

"Actually, there is one place where I could dig in for some information while you can ask Harry and whoever he was appointed as his fellow auror to go do so interrogations at Knockturn Alley. Am pretty sure someone over there would have some clue as to what is happening in the Marshlands."

Hermione was fairly impressed. She had been so busy in fussing over her lack of knowledge that the thought of someone on the wrong side of the law having any knowledge almost never crossed her mind!

"Brilliant, I shall owl him to see me before he leaves for the day. It has any case been two days that we have locked ourselves in this stuffy office. And I could honestly do with seeing a new face." She sighed.

"I am pretty sure my face is pretty handsome and in fact even charming to look at. Why would you possibly want to look at my dear friend, Scarhead's face?" The sly Slytherin said with a smirk that caught Hermione off-guard.

It had never really escaped her attention how his pointy nose and chin had matured over the years and become a perfectly carved nose and a sharp set jawline. His eyes had earlier always seemed calculative and menacing. Even dead and haunted during the War. Now they mostly looked guarded, with an occasional twinkle of amusement or other flits of emotions that he could not mask quick enough.

"I thought you were Harry's friend Ferret!" She could not help retaliate with a comeback. She could not and would not register the Pureblood Prince, Draco Malfoy flirting with her, Muggle Princess, Hermione Granger.

Malfoy got up from the chair he was sitting on and walked towards Hermione with an amused expression plastered over his face. As soon as he had crossed over to her chair, he bent down and with his face inches away from her, he said, "I thought we were done with the nicknames and were being civil. Guess not my bushy-haired friend, eh?"

Hermione could only register the unexpected proximity and nothing else. It took, what felt like, a few long minutes for her brain to process what he just said.

"My hair is not bushy. Not anymore at least. Also, where are you planning to go digging for information?" She decided to change tact and diverted the topic. He had not budged even slightly and it was making Hermione uncomfortable in a very weird manner. She did not understand why was her heart beating faster than usual or why did the room feel so stuffy suddenly.

Malfoy looked pretty pleased with himself as he stood up straight and casually walked away saying, "I don't think you would want to accompany me there anyway, so I will go check it tomorrow first thing in the morning and let you know by noon."

Hermione wasn't pleased with his cryptic answer. She stood up in a second.

"But we are partners. You cannot just go hunting in places without informing me! How do I know you are not going hurt any person or break into someone's house for all I know!"

"I am an ex-Death Eater, sure. But you broke into Gringotts, not me. Trust me I would do nothing illegal." He said with an exasperated sigh.

Despite his resigned attitude, Hermione was not satisfied.

"If you aren't going to do anything illegal you might as well tell me! I could come along and maybe even help! It would be easier for you too! So why don't you just tell me where you are off to!" Hermione knew she was running low on patience. She had managed to raise her voice only slightly, but it wouldn't take long for her to completely go bollocks.

Draco had been brooding in a corner up till now. He suddenly whipped around. He looked more annoyed than angry, but there was a bit of self-doubt, an emotion one never really saw in the Malfoy heir.

"Fine. I was planning to look at home."

"Home? You mean your apartment? What could you possibly find there? Oh wait! You were planning to come in late while you late me slog on this case, didn't you!" She half-screamed.

He covered the distance between them in three strides before he held her arms above her elbows in a death like grip and yelled, "By home I meant the Malfoy Manor, Miss-Know-It-All. I was planning to check out some manuscripts that might be there. And I did not want to ask you to accompany me to the house where I lost my sanity and you were tortured on the drawing room floor!"

He saw panic and terror take over her demeanour. Her entire body stiffened in his arms as her eyes widened and glassed over. He knew he had crossed a line. He did not know what about Hermione always put him on the edge.

He loosened his grip and held her close. He looked into her eyes and tried to gauge the damage he had caused. "Shit. I am so sorry Hermione. I am so so sorry! I really am. I just don't like talking about the place or taking anybody there. I should have just told you instead of creating drama. You don't have to come. I'll be fine. I am sorry. Please. You will be fine and safe." He cooed as he brought her closer and tucked her in his arms.

He knew he had stunned her with his mannerism and was feeling guilt wash all over him. He kept saying sorry, until he felt her regain her composure a few minutes later.

"I will come with you." Came a whisper, barely audible.

He thought he was imagining things when suddenly she repeated it louder and looked straight in his eyes.

"We both have witnessed tortures in that house. Nobody should relive any of that alone. Not me, not you. I will come with you."

She looked every bit the Gryffindor Princess she was as she said those words. There was something about her determination that could not make him refuse her offer.

But as he went to sleep that night, anticipating the next day's visit to Malfoy manor with his childhood nemesis, he couldn't stop thinking about how he had called her Hermione and the syllables had just seemed to roll off his tongue so easily. And how she had felt in his arms that day, as if she was meant to be held by him, just like that, often and a lot.


	5. Prejudices

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **So I am on a roll and here goes the fifth chapter! I have already crossed the 7,000 words mark with this chapter!**_

 _ **I imagine the renovated Manor would look like a beautiful French property**_ _ **called Château de Moissac-Bellevue. You can check it out online on its site!**_

 _ **Anyway, on to the story.**_

 _ **Mili**_

* * *

The young Malfoy had decided to reach the Manor an hour before the decided to time to make some necessary arrangement before the muggle-born witch arrived.

He had instructed the elves to not disturb them before lunch hour and had asked them to ensure that the Malfoy Matron, Narcissa Malfoy never crossed paths with them He had already met her the first thing when he had arrived and told her to enjoy her time in the gardens today. A suggestion he knew she would follow. She loved to tend to her rose bushes and after the war, simple things brought her joy while the usual pureblood fanfare and celebrations were a thing of the past that she no longer seemed to associate with.  
She was very wary around people and preferred to spend her time at the Manor and other Malfoy properties in and around Europe. She had also gone timid and occasionally had lapses in her memory after his father was given the Dementor's kiss. She had not taken the loss of Lucius well. She had loved him deeply, and his evil acts had made her feel only more and more hatred and loathing for the Dark Lord who had stirred that kind of behaviour in her dear husband. This was the very reason, apart from the love she had for her son that had made her defect at the last moment during the war when she had announced that the Chosen One was dead.

Draco knew it was better that Granger never came face to face with his mother. He did not want to know the kind of havoc it could start. Both the women did not need to relive the war, and them meeting could trigger the memories of that very hellish time.

He was now waiting outside the gates of the Malfoy Manor, as she would not be able to apparate inside the wards and it would be rude of him to let her apparate outside the gate and walk the mile from the gate to the Manor, alone. The grounds around the Manor were sprawling, and if one was being honest, one could get lost.  
He did not want to admit that he did not want to leave Hermione alone in this place. He knew the kind of memories she had of the place and he wanted to be there for her when she finally came in, just how she had wanted to be there for him.

At two minutes past ten, Draco heard the familiar crack of apparition behind him and he turned to see Hermione standing there giving him a weak smile.

"Are you alright?" Draco quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh yes, I am. Apparating empty stomach wasn't a good idea. Just feel a little dizzy. That's all. I overslept so had to skip breakfast." She said moving towards the massive gates of the Manor.

"I will ask the elves to fix you something. What would you like to have?" He said as he extended his hand for her to hold before they walked through the gates and into the grounds.

Hermione looked at his hand hesitatingly but finally put her right hand into his much larger left hand. His hand was surprisingly warm. She had almost expected his hand to be ice cold. This was just another surprising thing that she had learnt about Malfoy over the years.

"So, elves huh?" She said. He gave her an amused expression and started walking towards the gates with her. He held her hand firmly in his and could not help but feel how his hand easily encased hers. How her dainty feminine fingers were cold and wrapped right around his warm palm, seeking warmth.  
He could not help but glance at their hands in awe before he realised he had been staring for an awkward amount of time. He quickly looked away and focused on their path.

"Free elves Hermione. They are all well fed, clothed and given salaries or whatever they like in exchange for working at the Malfoy Manor. Their living quarters are also well maintained and its ensured that none of them overwork themselves."  
"Wow. I am impressed Malfoy. I really am." She beamed. Malfoy had rarely seen Granger smile, but as she broke into a grin, he realised she looked beautiful. Not in a making-heads-turn manner, but more like suddenly making you take notice of who she is and how amazing she can be. Her nose was a little wrinkled, her eyes had a twinkle in them, and her white teeth sat perfectly straight between a pair of plush pink lips. He realised then that her bottom lip was fuller than her upper lip and a sudden urge to bite on it took over him. He quickly looked away.

They reached the colossal doors of the Manor that opened magically as he stepped in.

"Umm Malfoy, are their special wards for uh…muggleborns?" Her tone was unsure and meek.

Draco stopped as they entered the foyer and looked at her. He suddenly saw a side of Hermione's that he had never seen before. A side she always hid behind her Ms Know-It-All demeanour. He suddenly knew why she had been so incorrigible since their first year. She had wanted to fit in in a world she knew nothing of. More than looking for approvals, she was simply looking out for herself and being prepared by knowing all that she could.

Not like he hadn't regretted his decisions as an adolescent before, but he felt terribly ashamed of bullying her back at Hogwarts. If he was being honest, being second in class to a muggle borns with was a massive blow to his ego. It was more his jealousy and insecurity that had often made him lash out at her more than any blood prejudice. If he wanted to simply establish his pureblood superiority, he could have traumatised plenty of his fellow students, including a few Slytherins, and not just her.

"You of all people should know this, no magic differentiates between bloodlines, Granger. Magic is the same to all of us. And nothing determines how strong we are as witches or wizards except our own prowess. All the pureblood bull shit was made by the sacred twenty-eight to simply establish their superiority. See what happened with that? Dead bloodlines, lots of squibs and a half-blood maniac trying to take over the world."

Hermione realised that Malfoy sounded bitter, and his bitterness did not seem to be directed at her at all. She could not help but look up at him in a daze. They were standing beside each other so it was hard to miss the bitterness etched all over his face.

"Loppy!" Malfoy commanded. With a pop, an elf in a child's frock appeared in front of the duo.

"Would master like something? Or should Loppy get something for the new Mistress?" The elf asked meekly.

"She isn't your new Mistress, Loppy! Why would you assume things I don't tell you!" Malfoy was not only annoyed and angry but also, rather rudely shocked at the elf's assumption. He knew his mother often talked to them about how he absolutely must settle down soon, but this was ridiculous!

Hermione was equally taken aback and was further shocked when she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

"You were holding madam's hand and Loppy has never seen you do so even with Miss Parkinson or Miss Greengrass, Sir. Loppy will never again make this mistake Sir. You may punish me if you want to."

The fact that they were still holding hands fell over them like a lightning bolt. They quickly let go of each other's hands. Hermione's cheeks were now blazing and Draco's ears were pink with embarrassment. They had been a little too comfortable holding onto each other it seemed. They avoided looking at one another as best as they could.

"A punishment would not be necessary. However, I would like you to prepare some breakfast for Miss Granger and me. I would like some poached eggs and sausages with toasts. And a cup of tea, please. Granger what would you like?" he turned towards her, only to see her quickly look away trying to hide her blush that seemed to really suit her well.

"Um..I will have the same, but I would prefer some orange juice with mine instead of tea if it would not be any trouble Loppy."  
She smiled at the elf.

"Would you need Loppy for anything else?" The elf asked with a smile. She was relieved that Master had not become angry with her. And the new Miss was nice to her. Loppy really like this new Miss. Even though Master Draco was nice to all the elves, his friends only ordered them around. Especially Miss Parkinson. Loppy did not like Miss Parkinson, but she dare not say that to anyone.

"That will be all, Loppy," Draco said as the elf disappeared with a loud pop. He had decided to take Hermione from the longer way, through the West Wing, rather than go through the East Wing and cross the drawing room.

Hermione realised that the Manor felt a lot different from earlier. Of course, there was no megalomaniac after her life and there were no death eaters in here anymore, but the ambience of the place was much warmer and full of light.

The French windows had mint green heavy drapes pulled to the side to let the Sunshine in, which was reflecting brilliantly off the light grey and white walls and ornate marble floor. It seemed as if the Malfoys had taken inspiration from their French ancestors to redo the Manor. The staircase was now a sweeping magnificent piece of marble, yet no matter how beautiful it all looked; Hermione did not wish to venture up the staircase because she knew what lay beyond it, the wretched drawing room where she was tortured. She had long forgiven Draco for something he had no control over. So had Harry. They both understood his predicament. Ron was yet to learn to be forgiving and to not see the world as black or white. It had its shades of grey and one had to learn to differentiate between them.

Draco moved towards the left wing and Hermione almost breathed a sigh of relief. "I won't take you that way. I know." He said in a deep voice. Even though he had not looked at her as he said those words, she did not doubt his sincerity. He might be a bully and mean, but evil and cruel he was not.

She followed him as she looked on with astonishment at the newly redecorated Manor. The Manor was now not only magnificent and opulently decorated as it was before; it also felt calm and inviting. Two words Hermione had never thought she would associate with either the Manor or its owner. But, the world was changing and so were the dynamics between the Brightest Witch of her Age and the Almost as Bright Malfoy Heir.


	6. Two sides of a coin

Draco was walking at a pace that matched Hermione's but yet managed to lead his way through the Manor. The young Master of the Manor had a certain aristocratic aura around him, and sometimes, when he was in his element, you could see the alpha male take over. He really did live up to the name of the Slytherin Prince. Hermione had often taken noticed of these details, but had never openly admitted to paying attention to any of this. He was her childhood bully after all.

They moved in and out of long corridors, that either exhibited some great pieces of art and Malfoy ancestry or sky scraping French windows that showed the lush gardens that were spread around the massive structure.

Hermione noticed that not all the paintings were magical ones; there were a few muggle ones amongst them. She was sure she had seen a Rembrandt or two among the paintings that graced the wall of the Malfoy Manor.

Malfoy took a right turn as they walked towards a set of massive gilded doors! Gilded doors! Who had gilded doors in today's time! Malfoys, of course. Hermione thought as she was reminded of just how rich and powerful the family was since more than ten centuries.

Draco knew the doors would be something that would stir Hermione's mind.

"They have been here for centuries. They are magical. No one except Malfoys or their permitted guests can enter the library."

"Oh." Hermione flushed. She was half amazed at how Malfoy seemed to know what was on her mind. "What about the muggle paintings? I think I saw a few Rembrandts and a few Da Vinci's up there."

Draco held the doors, but turned and smiled at Hermione. A full on genuine smile. "One can only expect the great Hermione Granger to not only notice that, but also know the artists. Well, even my ancestors could not deny the mastery the artists had. Plus, it is not that well known perhaps, but Rembrandt was a squib from a rather prestigious pureblood family. He did not want to join the ancestral business and wanted to pursue the finer arts, which he did, and now the world remembers. In fact, the seascape painting that you saw in the last corridor was a Rembrandt too."

"But I don't know of any seascapes that he made!" Hermione said skeptically.

"Oh he did. It was rumored to be stolen in 1990 from the United States. The truth is that he made the original as a magical piece of work, the one you saw right now. He made a muggle copy, the one that got stolen. The original stands proudly in the halls of Malfoy Manor."

It had been a long time that Draco had felt pride in being a Malfoy. The weird thing about it all was that telling Hermione all this was bringing out his pride of all things.

Hermione was impressed would be an understatement. She was beginning to understand the Malfoys' haughtiness and snobbery. It was not entirely baseless is something she had gathered over the years. Anybody with such a family background was bound to be proud of it; the Malfoys just took it a bit too far.

As he finally opened the doors and walked in, Hermione audibly gasped in astonishment. For the first time in her life she was bewitched and entranced by something other than books in a library. The library was larger than the Great Hall at Hogwarts and was chock full of books that lined the walls and shelves. What amazed her most was the fact that it looked rather modern and muggle in taste! A huge glass wall overlooked verdant bushes and trees that almost seemed to cover the entire wall. It almost felt as if one was sitting in the heart of nature with so many books.

"I thought the Manor could do with some of the muggle inventions and ideas. Especially the library. It was rather overflowing with all the reading material. Also, the Manor could do away with all the darkness. Both metaphorically and literally, I guess."

Draco said in a manner of explaining. He did not understand the sudden need to explain everything to Granger. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't trying to make her feel impressed and empathize with the Malfoys by talking about his heritage previously.

The look of sheer amazement was written all across Hermione's face.

"It's beautiful Draco. The entire Manor is. I almost forgot how it was the place of my nightmares. It's beautiful, really. I can't even think of any other words, am that astounded!" He could see the glimmer in her eyes.

"Well then, you can compliment my Mother for that. She has always loved French Chateaus over brooding English Manors, so she redid the entire Manor that way. She let me do the Library and Study as I wished since I would be the one using the two more than her."

Hermione could not look away from the books and the glass wall. Draco could not look away from the brilliance that shone on Hermione's face.

He led her forward towards the wall, where a comfortable modern looking grey couch was kept near a rather cosy looking fireplace. One of the elves must have lit the fire for them.

"So I remember reading something about the Marshlands as a teenager. But I don't remember where it was. So we would have to skim through any and every relevant book." Draco said pointing to a shelf.

Hermione seemed to finally be out of her bubble as she piped in, "So where should we start? You have an awful lot of books in here! Should we start with books about Scotland and its landscapes?"

"Yeah. And uh…I remember reading it as first person's account. As if someone was narrating what happened to them while they were there. So that might help? I will look through a few other books and scrolls, meanwhile. Some of my ancestors might have ventured in there and written about it in their journals."

A few hours had passed. They had lunch in the library itself, much to the horror of the elves. Hermione sat on the plush Persian carpet on the ground, surrounded by books everywhere. She had found a few references here and there, but nothing substantial that might have helped them.

They were both taking notes on a magical parchment, which ensured that a copy of what one wrote was automatically present in the others. This way, they would be up-to-date without a need to constantly cross-reference. Draco had said it was his way of taking 'combined' notes in class with his fellow Slytherins , back in the day. Hermione really doubted the fact that he used it to just take notes.

Draco was looking through the diaries that he could find and was walking as he read them. While Hermione seemed to be at peace, nestled amongst books, Malfoy seemed to find a sense of purpose in them. Two people who loved books, yet so differently.

"Draco! Come! Look here!" Hermione's voice broke the silence of the library. Draco almost immediately was next to her on the floor. He had his sleeves rolled up and he looked overworked, yet something out of those muggle romance novels that Hermione occasionally indulged in.

Hermione on the other hand almost had a permanent frown from scowling too hard at the books. The case was definitely taking a toll on the two.

"Look. Read here, the second paragraph!" Hermione said, pointing a well manicured finger at the said words.

"In 1806, the lesser known younger Malfoy, then of only twenty years of age, Silvius Malfoy, is known to have ventured into the Marshlands. He was known for his love of adventures, but strangely, this was once when he did not entertain any questions about his expedition. He vanished two years after this expedition. Whether the two events are unrelated, one does not know."

Draco now remembered where he had read about the Marshlands before! In Silvius' journal! He quickly turned towards the tomes and diaries that lined the shelves and started looking through the piles.

"Hermione, help me look for his diary! It must be in here!"

Draco had known that they had a magical family tree. One that had the names of all his blood relatives. Even Teddy Lupin was listed on the tree. He had seen it only after his father had passed away. It was a rather common knowledge that Malfoys always had only one heir, but that family tree had shown him that that wasn't the truth when it came to his Great Grand Father, Septimus Malfoy. He had a younger brother, five years younger to him, to be precise. Silvius was rather different. He liked to take pleasure in life and go on adventures much to the chagrin of his family. It was perhaps his love for adventures that made him vanish off the face of the Earth. Nobody knew what had happened to him. He was the black sheep of the family. One that had to be obliviated. But it was impossible to do so. Thus, over the years, gradually, he was passed on as a distant cousin of theirs to bring down the shame. The family tree still had his name. He was neither declared deceased; neither did he seem to have had a new family. His fate was perhaps more mysterious than the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

After searching for a long time, Draco decided to look for the journal in a different place. Somewhere he wasn't allowed to take Hermione unfortunately. He could not tell this to her obviously. He did not want to hurt the muggle born witch.

"You know what? I think we should call it a day." He declared and as Hermione opened her mouth to protest, Draco shushed her and continued, "If it was here, we would have found it by now Granger. I know you do not want to waste anymore time, but we need to be in stable minds if we want to work on it properly. We cannot be sleep deprived slow-minded people reading through texts. We both need rest. I will ask the elves to look for it and keep it aside by tomorrow morning."

Hermione walked over to him and with a stern face she said, "But we could at least try finding it, right? I can give you my word that we won't start working on it until tomorrow! Promise!" She looked like a disappointed child. After getting such a good lead, she could hardly go to sleep without wondering about the book.

Malfoy took a step closer to her, and she could not help but see the stark contrast that the greenery provided through the glass wall to his soft blonde locks and piercing grey gaze. The Sun was setting and that gave a warm glow to Hermione. Draco almost felt like holding her in his arms just to soak up all her warmth. Her eyes reminded him of brandy and her lips were pink and swollen due to her hours of anxious lip biting.

He put a finger to her lips and looked straight into her eyes. "Shhh…we will rest. I assure you that you shall have the diary with you by eight, tomorrow morning. You can come here early and get a head start if you want."

He did not know why was he whispering the words to her, but it felt like that this moment was a secret between the two of them. Something that he did not wish to show or share with anyone else.

Hermione's eyes widened at the proximity and she gulped. She could hardly think, let alone speak without sounding like a complete moron. She did not know what it was but Malfoy was starting to affect her. And in ways she did not think was possible. She loved reading novels, but she knew the difference between make-believe and reality. What was happening now seemed to belong in those very novels, rather than in the real world.

Hormones. It had to be her wretched hormones. She had not had the chance to encounter any fine young man in a long while and it was her hormones' way of telling her that she needed to put them to use soon.

She nodded a yes at Malfoy, and because of this, her lips brushed against his finger. Both stiffened at that moment. Each not willing to admit that they were embarrassed or affected.

Hermione decided to pick some semblance of her Gryffindor pride as she took a step away and turned towards her purse. If she was being honest, she was actually being a coward and running away from the Draco Malfoy. His schooldays as a playboy may be long gone, but his reputation as a great lover exceeded him. This fact did not make Hermione feel any better about their situation. So, she picked up her purse and asked him to show her the way out.

Draco had not felt this way in a long time. Yes, he did have his occasional trysts; but that simple touch had made him so hard that he had nothing to compare it to from his past. He knew he could not overstep his boundaries with Granger. It was naturally the sensible thing to do. So he said the most obvious thing that showed exactly how actively his brain was functioning, not.

"You don't have to leave, you know."

'Shit. What did I just say.' He thought to himself. Hermione seemed equally perplexed.

"Uh I meant, you could use the fireplace for the Floo. I can connect it to your appartment's for easier commute. Since we will be spending long hours researching about the case in here."

He mentally applauded himself for the last minute presence of mind he just exhibited.

"Oh. Of course. Yes, that should be wonderful." Hermione looked more embarrassed than him and could barely look him in the eye. After a few more minutes of awkward but mandatory conversation regarding the Floo, Hermione was finally off.

As she reached her apartment, she flopped down on her sofa and sighed loudly. That was probably the most embarrassing moment of her life! Aside from when Harry and Ron had both assumed that nobody had asked her to the Yule Ball in their fourth year, but that was them being completely indifferent baboons. Today, she had greatly contributed to the mess. Stupid hormones!

When she finally curled up in bed for the night, all she could think of were the piercing steel grey eyes that seemed to follow her everywhere she went and the word that she had left her lips for the first time in her life, that day, Draco.

 _ **(A/N)  
**_

 _ **Hope you liked this chapter and the sort of cliffhanger along with the chemistry between the two?  
Reviews are always welcome!  
And don't forget to vote if you like and of course, promote!**_

 _ **Mili**_


	7. Strains

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello,**_

 _ **A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!  
And with that here is a reallllllyyyyyyy long chapter with a realllllyyy long lemon. Consider it a new year gift! ;)  
Please don't read it if you are underage. It's not meant for innocent eyes.**_

 _ **Review, vote and promote!**_

 **Mili**

 _ **P.S. I will indicate the beginning of the lemon with some ~~~~ and the same for its end. You won't be missing any major plotlines if you skip the lemon.**_

* * *

The Malfoy family had more secrets than anybody could imagine. More than Harry's mind could conjure and definitely more than what the Ministry knew. One such secret was a hidden alcove in the library. It was right behind the fireplace and its entry was open in plain sight, thus no one imagined it to actually be anything that might contain anything precious.

Yet, the alcove consisted of the most shrouded Malfoy secrets. It had a Pensieve and memories of significant moments in the lives of each and every Malfoy. Moments that might be of significance to the successive generations. Also present were the diaries and journals of more controversial or important Malfoy ancestors.

Draco had recalled that he had come across Silvius' journal during the war while the Dark Lord had made the Manor his madhouse. Draco had had nothing to do and he needed a distraction from all the torture and misery he saw around himself. Learning new skills was something he could not put his mind to, so he took up reading about the past, instead. He had picked up the journal at random, from the shelf on the wall. When and how did it manage to land up in the Alcove, Draco did not know.

He was almost sure it was stolen, but he had to check the Alcove, to be sure. And he needed to do it in Hermione's absence. He couldn't exactly just share the family secret with her after all.

Much to his relief, the journal was right there. Lucius might have hidden it from the Death Eaters. He probably did not want anyone to know of the little splotch on an otherwise spotless lineage of Malfoy purebloods. Draco grimaced at that thought.

Granger was at the door, punctual as always, exactly at nine. Draco had owled her to be there at nine instead of eight. A man did need his fair share of sleep at the end of the day.

They had breakfast while going through some other books about the Marshlands and previous case history that Hermione had managed to procure from the Ministry. They decided to save the journal for the last. Draco had flipped through it and had marked the relevant portion to study in detail.

As the fire crackled in the fireplace, and the storm clouds gathered outside the Manor, the two seemed busy making notes and trying to find anything that might help them solve the case. Truth was, they were hyper-aware of each other. Draco would steal occasional glances whereas Hermione would discreetly look at him over her book, from her place on the rug, that she had now claimed as her own.

They would catch each other's eye and then turn a shade of crimson that would put a tomato to shame.

Hermione could not stop looking at his sinewy arms that were on show under his rolled-up sleeves. Draco Malfoy was one impeccably dressed gentleman. There would never be a single unwanted crease on his clothes. He believed in power dressing. Rolling his sleeves, when he was working passionately was the only time when Hermione had ever seen the blonder haired man change the appearance of his clothes from anything less than perfect. However, she knew the truth. What those sleeves and the man in the shirt did to her nerves, only she knew.

Hermione had been constantly biting away at her lower lip. The more she did it, the more irritated Draco felt. It was making her lips more plump and red. Making that smart mouth of hers even more tempting. Hermione probably never realised that all her sensible dressing had a rather opposite effect on the Slytherin Prince. All he wanted to do was bite that plump bottom lip of hers and rip off her dainty silk blouses and pencil skirts that she preferred over the robes. He wanted to ravish her with every glance; instead, he had started applauding himself at the amount of self-control that he had been exhibiting lately.

He did not know where was all this pent-up sexual tension coming from. He had always respected her, even back in his Hogwarts years. Though he would have never admitted that to anybody. Over the years, after the war, he had come to admire her for her resilience, passion and ability to take charge. Now that blood purity bigotry did not cloud his mind, he had even admitted it to himself that she was rather pleasant to look at. And there was a certain warmth to her and strength in her character. If you knew she was on your side, you could be assured that she would make sure that you would succeed. Maybe that is what fed Potter's hero complex for all those years.

He really needed to get laid, he thought with a sigh as he got up to summon an elf to bring in their lunch. Food would do as a distraction for now.

"So do you want to start looking over the journal after lunch?" Hermione said as she sat down at the makeshift dining table that the elves had set up in the library for their benefit.

Draco simply nodded in approval. He did not wish to talk. His thoughts betraying him and turning towards the naughty lanes, each time he looked at Granger.

"Did you find anything of interest last night when you looked it over?"

He mentally groaned but knew better than to ruin the companionship the two had somewhat established. "I just read the part where he starts his journey to the Marshlands. I didn't read further. It took me rather long to find the book so I was tired by then."

"Where did you find it eventually?" Hermione was being rather chatty that day. She was a curious person, but for her to be engaging in a conversation with the Malfoy heir was very unlikely of her. It made Draco wonder what was on her mind. She often looked for answers to unnecessary things when she wanted to distract herself from unpleasant thoughts. This was something Harry had explained to Draco long ago when they had first become friends.

"What's on your mind, Granger? What are you thinking?"

This seemed to confuse Hermione. She gave him a puzzled look. "Well, the diary of course. And the case. What do you think is on my mind, Malfoy?"

"You are lying. You are trying to ask me questions so that you can keep that overflowing grey matter of yours preoccupied."

Hermione seemed taken aback and asked in a shocked tone, "Why will I be lying!" Malfoy decided not to push his luck. He knew he had crossed a line with his bluntness so, he decided not to tick her off any further.

"Sorry. I was just trying to take a rise out of you." Draco sighed, finally and decided to indulge her. Hermione gave him an irritated nod and went on questioning him about the library and its books. The girls really did love to ask questions.

Once they were through with their lunch, they stood next to each other at the table; going over the notes they had collected since morning. Draco caught a whiff of something that reminded him of cookies and cakes. A scent of vanilla with something that made him feel warm inside. Their meal was long gone and taken care of by the elves. He could not understand where the smell could possibly be coming from. He turned around to have a look when he realised that it was Hermione. She stood closer to him than normal as they went over the parchment. Draco whipped his head so fast that he bumped his nose on the back of Hermione's head.

"Ouch! Shit."

"Oh, Merlin! I am sorry! How did this even happen?"

Expect Hermione to go all mother hen over you and still manage to ask questions, Malfoy thought. He was currently holding his nose in place and trying to not think about the pain. Hermione was trying to pry his hands away from his face so that she could have a look and estimate the damage.

Suddenly they heard the click of a door. They both turned around to see the Malfoy matriarch standing in the doorway.

"Oh, I forgot you would be here! I am sorry for interrupting. Go on, carry on you two." She gave them both a knowing smile as she tried to leave.

"No, it's not what you think it is!" Both of them said in unison.

"Clearly." Narcissa Malfoy said with an amused smile.

"Mother, it is not what you think it is. This is Hermione Granger, the war heroine. Harry Potter's best friend. We were working on the case I told you about. I would not date her."

Narcissa moved towards the two who now had at least a distance of two feet between them, having jumped away from each other. She reached Hermione and gave her a smile. "Oh yes, of course. It completely slipped my mind. Nice to meet you, Miss Granger. I hope Draco has extended good hospitality towards you. If not, I can always ask the elves to make something for you."

"No, that won't be necessary." Hermione was genuinely trying to be nice and to give her a smile. But she could not forget how she was tortured by the very witch's sister in the drawing room of this very Manor. The memories were too powerful to overcome. She knew that Narcissa was just a prejudiced pureblood but had meant no harm to anyone. She just wanted her family safe from harm. Hermione was still grateful to her for lying to Voldemort about Harry being dead and saving the Wizarding World in the long run.

"Well, in that case, if my son gives you any trouble, you can ask any of the elves to come fetch me. I will make sure he gets an earful. I did not mean to interrupt the two of you so rudely. As you can see, the clouds have gathered and it would start pouring cats and dogs any moment now so I could not go for my daily walk around the gardens. Thus, I decided to visit the library instead. But you two carry on. I will go find something else to entertain me." She smiled warmly at the two of them as she left.

Narcissa Malfoy was a lady of strength and poise. Even with the weight of the war and the Dark Lord running a freak circus in her home, Narcissa has always held her head high and looked out for her loved ones. She might have been a product of the years of pureblood prejudice, but she now knew the error of her ways. Of course one couldn't expect her to mingle and become best friends with muggles and muggle borns witches and wizards, but she was now more open minded about sharing the Wizarding world with them.

As they moved back towards the parchment, Hermione could not help but think about how Draco had said that he would not date her. His words had not only stung, but also made her enraged. How dare he reject her without even knowing her! It must be the blood. No matter what he said or did, she would always be a mudblood to his kind.

"We should start with the journal. I can finish the remaining documents while you look over it." She said in a clipped voice as she made her way to the other side of the sitting area, the area furthest from the Malfoy and next to the glass wall. She slammed her pile of books on the coffee table as she tried to look for her quill.

"What's gotten into you, Granger?" Draco looked at her with scrutiny. He had noticed the sudden change in her behaviour and could not understand what had happened to make the witch so enraged.

"What's gotten into me? Nothing. You must be imagining things." She said in a nonchalant voice with an almost convincing sweet smile. Draco would have let it be on any other occasion, but the fact that her demeanour changed only after his mother visited them by chance irked him a lot. His mother was perfectly nice and even inviting towards the curly haired brunette so he could not fathom what had antagonised her.

Draco put down the parchment and started walking towards her. "Come on Granger. Something has set you off. If it was my mother's sudden visit that upset you, then I am really sorry. I did tell her we would be here, but she hasn't been keeping well. She suffers from memory loss at times. Or it simply must have slipped her mind." He was now beginning to get irritated with her because she was not even gracing him with a simple glance let alone acknowledge what all he had just said.

"Granger, look at me. I really am sorry, okay? I know it might have triggered some memories from the war. I did not mean for it to happen. But my mother does have a memory loss condition!" he said as held her by her shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"Oh, so _that_ is why you had to remind her who I was and why you wouldn't be dating me?" She said in a seethed tone.

"What do you even mean by that?" Draco asked.

She put away his hands that were still holding her by the shoulders and could feel the moisture pool in her eyes. Hermione repeatedly reprimanded herself for acting so foolish in front of Malfoy. She simply could not cry and let herself be so affected at his off-hand comment. Or at least, she could not let him know how much it had affected her. So, she tried to control her anger and her unshed tears that were beginning to form.

"I mean, I know am probably the best brains that you could find to work with. And probably one of the most well-known names to associate with. But I would still always be the _mudblood_ to you. Won't I? That is why you had to remind your mother who I was and why you wouldn't date me. Mother meet Hermione, the mudblood princess that won the war alongside Potter. But of course, I know I can't date her or anything, her lineage is nothing like our bloody pureblooded Malfoy family's."

Hermione was now raging with anger. It took Draco a moment for to register it all. He could not imagine that a simple statement would affect her so much. When he had made that statement, he was reminding his mother who she was, but not because of her being a muggleborns! She was taking this completely out of context! Such rash behaviour was never expected from her.

"Have you completely gone bonkers? I meant nothing of that sort Granger! I was, in fact, reminding mother who you were, but not for your blood ancestry you daft witch! Whatever has gotten into you!"

Draco wanted to literally shake some sense into her. He took a step closer as he tried to calm himself down. He knew two agitated people would never reach any conclusions.

"Okay, listen. I did not mean that, okay? I really did not. What I believed in earlier was what I grew up with, it's not who I am! Even my mother does not believe in all this. That was just my fath…eh Lucius. I am not shameful of being friends with muggleborns just because of their bloodlines. I am not that person anymore."

Hermione, then, looked straight into his stormy grey eyes that matched the clouds looming outside. It had started to drizzle and soon it would be a raging storm. Her own chocolate orbs seemed to be set ablaze with the fury that she felt. Years of torment and being bullied by him and numerous others due to her bloodline or rather lack thereof had made it a sensitive issue with her. She had built defences strong enough for the crudest of insults to not affect her at all. She knew it was the best to simply ignore them and wait for her tormentors to simply get bored and move on. But somehow, she had started to see Malfoy as a close acquaintance over the years, even as friends if she would be bolder, over the past few days. His words had cut a deep gash into her defences. They had reminded her of his years of bullying and she had felt a pang of betrayal with those words.

"Of course you do not mind being associated with our kind. It brings goodwill back to the Malfoy name of course. But dare you to be caught in a relationship with one, such disgrace!"

Malfoy could feel his temper soaring now. "How do I explain it to you! What I meant was that it's not that I wouldn't want to date you. It's just that you have someone. I know you have Ron, even if you two did break up long back. I thought you still have feelings for him so how can anybody date you, let alone me?"

Hermione moved away towards the glass wall. "Don't you dare drag Ron into this Malfoy! Don't you dare. I do not have feelings for him so don't try to hide your bigotry with assumptions about my affections for one of my best friends. Don't give me such an excuse. I thought you respected my brains at least!"

"Oh, you infuriating woman! Why won't you believe me!" But before he could explain further, he saw the resolve in her eyes. He knew that she had decided about what she understood the situation to be and nothing he said would persuade her otherwise so he did the only other thing he could think of to make her believe him.

In a second, before Hermione could react, Draco was in front of her. He pushed her against the glass wall and as the storm reached its peak and the droplets hit the glass, Hermione's back was slammed against the very wall and Malfoy's lips were on hers in an enraged passionate kiss.

Before she could stop or understand what had happened, it was over. He was still cradling her head in his hands and had her cornered against the wall.

His expression had softened and he looked at her in wonder. Suddenly there was a clap of thunder which brought Hermione back to reality.

"How dare you!" she screamed as he put a finger against her lips and whispered a "Shhh.."

He looked at her, his left palm, still cradling her face, and said in a hushed voice, "If I didn't want to date you, I wouldn't even touch you or kiss you. Or want to ravish you right here like I feel like doing right now. Do you know how infuriating you are, woman?"

Draco was surprised at his own bluntness but did not show it. He saw Hermione's chocolate pools turn into dark chocolate orbs as his words left his lips. She definitely seemed to like the idea of being ravished by him and she was also not trying to get away from him. So he decided to take another chance while he was at it.

He closed his eyes and leant in for a kiss when, he was met by her lips crashing onto his, halfway. He was surprised, but what shocked him the most was the jolt of pleasure that immediately ran throughout his body and to his nether regions. Soon he was plundering her mouth with his tongue and nipping and biting at her lower lip. "I have been wanting to do that for a while." He growled in between kisses. Hermione could not have enough of him. They were just kissing and she was already feeling heady. He gave her a last bruising kiss as he made way towards the juncture between her collarbone and her neck. He lightly grazed his lips there as she sighed.

Then, as if testing the waters, he flicked his tongue at the pulse, which made her whimper with pleasure. He soon blew a breath over the wet bit of skin that seemed to have delighted her. He almost chuckled at how she had turned into putty in his arms. He was regretting not having tried anything sooner. Then he was giving her butterfly kisses and sucking on her earlobe when suddenly he felt her hands feel him over. She was trying to feel him through the shirt and was grazing her hands across his torso and back.

Draco suddenly felt as if there was too much space between them. He pushed her against the glass wall, their passionate interlude as raging as hard as the storm outside. He used his strong Seeker arms, that she always admired, to pick up her legs and wrap them around his waist. And as she tightened her grip around his waist, she felt his arousal against her hot wanton core. She unwillingly ground her hips against his which made him hiss in pleasure. Such a Slytherin he truly was, hissing with pleasure.

This made Draco increase his ministrations grow ten folds and made him feel bolder. He looked at Hermione as his hands moved over to the top button of her shirt as if asking for permission. She put her own hands up his shirt in return. That was all the permission he needed. Both the shirts were discarded in less than ten seconds as Hermione's hands grazed his well-defined torso while he kept kissing her curves; all while their cores were constantly grinding against each other's. He was surprised that the no-nonsense Granger was a minx under all the professional clothing. He had almost growled in appreciation of her lacy black bra. It was the kinds which were pure sheer lace; which meant he could see her rosy nipples peaking from within. He grazed his thumb over the sensitive peaks as his tongue plundered her mouth. The sensation was something she had never felt before. She had had sex before but no guy had ever appreciated the lingerie or used it to arouse her in return.

Draco flicked her nipple through the bra and watched her whimper in pleasure with her eyes sealed shut. She had a frown and her perfect little mouth formed a perfect 'O'. He raised her a little higher and licked her nipple through the lace. He knew he was driving her mad with his ministrations. He smirked as he took the other nipple into his mouth and started to suck and roll his tongue over it at the same time.

Hermione grabbed his hair and moaned, "Oh..Draco!"

He pulled down one strap and then the other until he had managed to pull the bra down to her waist. Both her rose tipped breasts now hung in front of him and they were his to ravish. He automatically cupped both of them and started to knead them and roll and pinch her nipples. Hermione was panting and if he kept going, she would soon be orgasming right there without him having to even touch her dripping core.  
Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, he started kissing her again as his hands started grazing her thighs. She loosened her grip on his waist a bit to be able to spread her legs further. Her skirt was now bunched up around her waist. He could see matching lace panties peering from under the skirt. He looked at her and she nodded. He knew what that meant and he wasted no time in pushing the skirt further up.

The rain was falling against the glass wall, and the tempest was raging on. Hermione was flush against that very wall with Draco between her legs. If anybody had dared to cross the Malfoy fields in this weather, they could have easily seen their young Master enjoy a very passionate encounter with the Gryffindor Princess up against the wall.

Draco's fingers hummed across her inner thighs and then he slightly touched her heated core. He skimmed his fingers, lightly against her covered dripping wet slit. The anticipation was killing her. Hermione was on a one-track mind now. Never before had she received so much pleasure on one go, not even after orgasming. "Draco, please." She pleaded.

That was all the encouragement he needed. He lightly cupped her core through the lace and squeezed, as soon as she moaned, he pushed aside the fabric and felt up her slit with his index finger.

"Spread yourself for me, Hermione." Despite her state of undress and her wanton requests, she blushed at his words. She spread her legs further as he felt her dripping wet. He spread the liquid all over her core and then settled for the bundle of nerves right above her entrance. He flicked it lightly when she almost came undone. Then he ground it with his finger and started to massage it in a circular motion, slowly.

"I am going to come, Draco!"

"Not like this. Not yet." He said as he removed his right hand and used his left hand to probe her entrance. "So wet." He whispered against her ears. He put his middle finger inside her in one clean sweep and moved it inside her. She stated writhing in pleasure in his arms. Soon he started massaging her clit again while his other hand plundered her wet spasming core. She was on the edge but he wasn't letting her go over it, when suddenly he kissed her and then, against her lips, he said, "I want to see you come for me, Hermione." And she felt herself giveaway as her entire body spasmed and hummed with orgasm. He used his arms to hold her up because she now had no strength left in her. It had to be one of the most intense orgasms that she had ever had. Once he was sure she was well supported, he looked into her eyes and licked his finger clean of her juices. "Hmm. You really taste delicious Hermione." She had never been this turned on in her life.

He wanted to taste her in more sacred places and their current position against the wall was proving pretty restrictive. So, he picked her up as it is, with her legs wrapped around him and settled her on the coffee table where she had previously set her research material.

As soon as he set her down, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Draco! Mate?" Blaise Zabini stood on the other side of the door. Their bubble burst and they crash-landed into reality. They haphazardly put on their clothes and avoided making any eye contact or touching each other in any way possible. With a few spells, their hair and clothes were in place.

Hermione was still reeling from the orgasm, but she could not understand what just happened. It had all felt like a dream to both of them. They were so detached from the reality.

"Why is this door locked? Draco?" hollered an impatient Blaise from across the gilded doors. "Coming." Draco ran for the door while Hermione settled down to look as if all she did in the past one hour was research.

"What are you doing behind locked doors in a library? With Hermione of all people, hello, by the way." said the Italian with a smile towards the brunette. Everybody knew that he was a charmer and could get away with almost anything.

"Just the confidential Ministry work I had owled you about. Have to keep it locked. Sorry, the elves kept you waiting." Draco did not want to even look at Hermione.

"Strange that you have such a weirdly shaped clearing in an otherwise fogged up glass window...eh wall." Nothing missed his eye, and this case; it was the impression of Hermione's back against the wall that they both had missed. Thankfully it was actually absurd in shape and there was no way for him to figure what was the cause of it.

"Oh we were trying to look out of the window to check the weather, so had to clear it up a bit. Anyway, I will see you later Draco. I was leaving in any case. See you around Blaise!" She fibbed as she smiled at the duo and ran for the Floo.

"That was rather random, but anyway. So any progress with the case? And she has access to your private Floo? Wow."

"Now there will be none now that you called in unexpectedly and that too in this weather. Not like I would tell you anything anyway. And it's just easier and less hassle if she has access for now."

"As you say." said Blaise as he settled down into an armchair near the fireplace with a knowing smirk.

Draco was really annoyed that they had been so rudely interrupted but he was even more annoyed at what were they thinking! They had not thought of repercussions their actions might have! And now he knew it would be awkward for the till the end of time. And as much as he would love to relive the moments in his head, he had a friend to entertain and raging a hard on in Blaise's presence was definitely not on Draco's bucket list.


	8. Discoveries

Hermione could not believe it still. She woke up this morning feeling unusually sated and horny at the same time. She had many dreams of being pleasured to great heights and in many different ways. Once she was deep in a jungle, another time was on a beach, in another dream, she was on a boat drifting under the stars. She saw many such dreams that night, but the man who gave her pleasure remained the same. Malfoy.

It took a few moments for her foggy mind to register the events of the day before. She groaned and put her head in her hands in shame. She could not believe how wanton she had acted with Malfoy!  
She wished she could vanish from the face of the planet.

What had she done!

She could never face him again! She knew he had kissed her first, but she was the one who had egged him on. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not forget how good he had made her feel. Her toes tingled every time she thought of how his fingers had plunged into her and brought her to ecstasy. She could still feel the ghost of his kisses all over her skin.

But the truth was that no matter what, she possibly could not face him. No way in hell. So she did the only possible thing she could think of.  
Find a way to avoid him and keep away from him or else her treacherous thoughts might make her do something she would regret later.

Draco had spent the night at the Manor in his childhood bedroom. Blaise had left sometime around ten at night after endlessly teasing Draco about the bushy haired brunette.

As he woke up, he could only think of Granger's face scrunched up in sheer pleasure. Pleasure that he was giving her. He was willing to do it every day if he knew he would be able to see her moan his name with such rapture. He smirked at the memory but then the realisation that she might never want to even see his face washed all over him.

He sat up amidst the silk sheets as he heard incessant tapping on the window. Draco was in no mood to ever leave his bed, but he knew he eventually would have to get back to his research and face Hermione.

He groaned as he left his toasty bed and was met with the chilly air. The tapping was grating on his nerves. He pushed aside the heavy drapes in one swift movement and was met with a rather plain looking brown owl. 'Who would owl me at this ungodly hour?' thought Malfoy as he opened the door to let the bird in.

He untied the letter and fed the bird a treat. Once the owl was gone, he shut down the window, put a shirt on his naked torso and sat at his writing desk.  
The moment he opened the letter, he saw the slanted cursive script and knew who had written the letter, almost immediately. He had been reading the very handwriting off his parchment of notes since a few days now.

She had written to him saying that it was all a huge mistake and that she cannot work with him any further. He was sure of that. She must have even placed a replacement request with the Ministry. He dreadfully opened the letter and almost did not want to read it, but one had to man up at times.

 _Malfoy,_

 _I have realised that since only one person can go through the journal at a time, you could try and check if it has anything of relevance to us. Also, if you have the time, you can look over the last remaining books in your library._

 _I thought it would be the best if we visited the scene of crime soon. It would not be safe for both of us to go together as in the event of some mishap, both of us would be endangered and all the research would also be in peril. Harry agrees and thus he and Terry would accompany me to investigate the Marshlands. Might you remember Terry Boot from our Hogwarts days? He was in Ravenclaw._

 _I shall keep you posted about my findings. You would not be able to owl me but can leave messages with Harry's secretary, Miss Ghosh._

 _Best,_  
 _Hermione Granger_

'So formal? And no mention of last night at all?' were Draco's first thoughts. He mentally lauded Hermione for coming up with such a clever solution to entirely avoid any interaction or awkwardness and at the same time still continuing to work. She really was a brilliant witch. However, what he really wanted to do was see her reaction when asked about last night. Would she blush and brush it aside or would she go all feisty and righteous on him? Probably the latter he would have imagined. But the fact that he was surprised with her reaction would have been the understatement of the century.

Draco put aside the letter and summoned a house elf to prepare his breakfast while he got ready. Despite the fact that he could not get the images of Hermione writhing in pleasure, that he was giving her, out of his head, he knew they had work to do and people to save.  
He would be lying if he said that he wasn't worried for the trio that was to go to the Marshlands. So he did the only thing that he thought was possible to contribute to their safety in his own way. He wrote to Harry.

 _Harry,_

 _Hermione owled me about your plans to go check the Marshlands. We are still not very clear about our findings, but there is something you should know before you visit the area._

 _I do not know whether it is a myth or a rumour, but as a child, I was often told that the Marshlands has a hidden treasure or at least a building of some kind. Do not venture near it at any cost. I don't know what might happen if you do, all I know is people who have done so, were never found again. And please make sure that this fact/myth stays confidential. I will explain the reason later._

 _Stay safe._

 _D.M._

Draco posted the letter as he left to take a bath. He really hoped that Potter received the letter in time. Hermione might not listen to him because what all he just wrote was never mentioned in any of the texts that they had gone through. But he knew that Harry would have the sense to listen to him. Even if he used his hero complex and went in, Harry would keep Hermione safe at all costs.  
Malfoy had just divulged a piece of information that had been passed on to him by his forefathers. Malfoys were told to never go near the Marshlands for it held an untold treasure, one that was possibly cursed. Malfoys had never let dark magic or unclaimed treasures to determine their actions, however, the fact that each of them was instructed to stay away was enough proof of how sinister could the curse or spell prove to be. He had heard his grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy, once tell Lucius that the place must not be entered at all costs, the threshold must never be crossed. A fact that had let the youngest Malfoy believe that the place must be a cottage or at least an enclosed building of some kind.

He wanted to protect the secret as much as he could, but now it was about Hermione, Harry and even Boot's safety. He had had enough of Malfoy secrets to last him a lifetime, anyway.

Harry read the letter and quickly put it aside as Ginny sat with him at the table. "So, you both are going to the Marshlands today? I think it is a bad idea." Ginerva Potter neè Weasley was as blunt as you could get. "Well yeah. But we have to do what it takes before any more people turn up dead Ginny."

Ginny sighed as she held his right hand in her left and gave a reassuring squeeze. "I know. Just stay safe you two. You might be the Boy who Lived and Killed Voldemort, and Hermione might be the Brightest Witch of Our Age who literally stopped Voldemort with her wits, but still there are secrets of the Wizarding World that you both don't know of. All those who grew up in the Wizarding World have heard stories of horror about the Marshlands. You are venturing into something none of us has any clue about. Not even Hermione. I just want you all to be safe."

She took his hand and put it on her round belly and said, "I just want his Daddy and his Godmother to be safe and sound for when James decides to come into the world in a few months." Harry looked at her with a sad smile and gave her a long kiss to soothe her nerves.

"I promise not do anything stupid. I know you keep telling me this that I have done my fair share of saving the world, but it's not enough. Though, I know that this time I am not the only one who must do it. Don't worry, we will all be safely home by dinner. I promise."

Harry decided it was best to not tell Hermione anything about what Malfoy had told him. He would simply stick with her and make sure she stays safe. He knew that the moment he told her, she would get more curious and would jump into this curse-ridden place at the first chance. He briefed Terry vaguely about what to look out for and what to stay away from before Hermione appeared in his office at half past nine. Within the next fifteen minutes, they were ready to apparate, with special permission from the Ministry, to the Marshlands.

The crack of the apparition echoed in the forest as they appeared. They were wearing muggle gum boots to protect their feet from the mucky grass and bushes beneath their feet. They had charmed their robes to repel and mud or water and had cast a warming charm to battle the chill.

As they stepped into the deep part of the forest, Harry noticed a wisp of light from a far. He saw it as a warning rather than as a thing to chase. So, instead of following it right ahead, he decided to approach it stealthily from the side. He gestured to Hermione and Terry to follow him quietly as they made their way towards the wisp of light.

As they got closer, they saw that the place was full of such mini lights. Hermione knew what they were! They were Wil o- wisps! She had read about them in muggle books of natural phenomenon and even myths and folklore!

Her mind automatically raced to the delusions they are said to cause, causing the people to eventually die. The cause and manner varied from tale to tale, but the end was always the same- death.

She paused and held back the guys as they gave her a questioning look. She nodded a no in the direction of the lights to tell them to back off. She pleaded with the two until they reluctantly agreed to move towards the clearing that they had come from.

As they reached the clearing, Terry asked, "Why did you ask us to move back? Am pretty sure those lights have some significance!" Harry looked like he wanted to ask her the same.

"Well, as you know, Malfoy and I have been pouring over every possible text ever written about the Marshlands but there has never been _any_ mention of the Wil o- wisps. I have read about them in muggle science and folklore, but there is no mention of them occurring in this area, ever. Don't you find that startling?"

Hermione did have a point. It was only quarter to two and these wisps were said to usually occur at night. They knew that the forest was so dense that barely any sunlight reached through the canopy, whatever the time of day maybe, but that did not justify their unaccounted presence for centuries! Something was amiss, and they had to know more before daring to go after the said lights.

After a light lunch with the duo, Hermione decided to go to the Manor and discuss her findings the Malfoy. She was dreading seeing him, but her surprised and curious thoughts were overpowering her embarrassment. She got Harry to give her some books from the Ministry, about the topic, and was off to the Ministry Floo to go to the Manor. Miss Ghosh had just told Hermione that Draco had left a message for him. It simply said,

 _Granger,_

 _Don't let your curiosity kill the cat, or you. Stay safe._  
 _If you get this later, then let me know me once you three are back. Owl me all the details too._

 _D.M._

Hermione was glad it had no mention of last night, but at the same time was a little sad, just a little, that he had shoved it into the back, just like she had. She was secretly half hoping he might bring it up, even if it was simply to take a rise out of her. But as it turns out, Malfoy had actually matured.

At the Malfoy Manor, the Slytherin Prince could feel his head reeling. He had started to read the journal sometime around ten in the morning and the things he had found were beyond his imagination! He was half sure that his ancestor was simply high on those muggle medicines or plants, whatever they were, called drugs.

His ancestor was clearly delusional, but if even a bit of it was true, then the three were not only in grave danger, but also never to be seen again! He had then immediately flooed to the Ministry and ran to Harry's office. There really was no way to contact them and one couldn't apparate or reach the Marshlands on a broom or by foot after the Ministry set up special wards to keep people away. He had tried asking for access but was told that Harry had explicitly told to keep him safe and away. Damn Potter for treating him like some china doll. And damn Hermione for feeding him the idea.

So he had simply done all he could do, left a message for Hermione with the secretary. He asked her to simply say that he had owled the letter and to not mention anything about his haphazard pleading to the Ministry officials. She had chuckled and kept the letter. She knew that the Malfoy had his pride to save and a reputation to maintain, but it was surely a rare sight to see him so flustered and out of place.

Malfoy had then, come back to the Manor and continued reading and making notes to avoid his mind from worrying about the three in the Marshlands, particularly for one curly haired dame. What he found later had staggered his mind further, to the point where he was sure he was reading a work of fiction. No wonder his father had hidden the journal!  
Draco was stupid to have skipped this portion to read the bits about the family feud. This was far crazier, that was for sure. Now all he needed to know was how much truth lay in it all.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello everyone, hope everyone liked the previous chapter and is having a good new year!  
The main plot line begins now. Hope you will all like it!**_

 _ **-Mili**_


	9. Revelio

It would be unfair to say that Draco Malfoy, bad boy extraordinaire, did not care. He had, in the past few hours, worked himself to the grave and worried himself sick for Granger and Harry. If anyone would have told him he would be fretting over their well-being a few years back, he would have called them mad and pranked them later.

As the Floo in the Malfoy library glowed green, in a burst of emerald flames, appeared the object of his agony. Hermione Granger seemed calm and collected. Her appearance was exactly opposite of how she felt; anxious, embarrassed and excited to share her findings.

"What did you find?" Both spoke at the same time. Neither waiting to greet the other and Draco too relieved to see her back unharmed.

"You are alright? And Potter too I hope? And that guy, Boot?" Draco smiled from his desk. He felt funny seeing her by his fireplace after their interlude last night. If she wanted to pretend like nothing had happened, then two could play the game, he decided. Hermione was a little confused and relieved at his reaction. At least he wasn't bringing up her shameless need of him the previous night. He wasn't as insufferable to work with as she had first anticipated, she concluded.  
She moved towards the table and took a chair opposite his.

"We all returned safely, but we never made it to the actual scene of crime. We had to turn back before we got in trouble because we found this." She said as she stacked the newly acquired books on the table.

Malfoy put down the journal, and looked at the covers. "Will o'-wisps? You found Will o'-wisps in the Marshlands, is that it?" He sounded rather alarmed as if he could not believe his eyes.

"Yes! Even I did not know that they were there in these parts. None of the books had any mention of them. Am equally surprised!"

"Actually, Granger one book did have a mention of them. My Great grandfather's journal to be precise." Now Draco seemed nervous more than happy about his findings. This worried Hermione too.

"What did you find Malfoy? You don't seem particularly excited about the findings."

Draco passed on the parchment where he was writing his notes as he started narrating his findings. "Uh..so the Marshlands technically belong to the Sacred Twenty Eight. The lands were popular with the families to go for fishing and picnics and other leisurely activities from the 17th to 19th century. There was some bond that was signed between the Ministry and the Sacred Twenty Eight to provide them with free access in return for some resources. As the activities grew, the animals started to disappear and so did a lot of plants and trees, which were vital for many potions. This vastly affected the flora and fauna in the Forbidden Forest as well. In the mid 18th century, an act was passed to stop the activities as the Ministry no longer needed the resources that the Sacred Twenty Eight were providing and the danger to the forests had reached a new peak."

Hermione was shell-shocked. There was absolutely no Ministry record of this!

"No wonder it the Marshlands are not marked or filed under the 'Public Property of the Ministry! All other public grounds, including the Forbidden Forest are marked in it, but there is no mention of the Marshlands at all! So the claim could be true!" Hermione was leaning over the table, trying to scan their notes.

"That's not all." Draco said taking a sip of water before he continued. "Silvius Malfoy was known to be great at Herbology. He frequented the Marshlands for its rare flora. He did so under the guise of going fishing as his brother usually disapproved of his passion. Once the act was passed, it became more difficult for him to access the Marshlands, even though he was glad for the protection it now had. He would change the wards and sneak in. Once, in the summer months, he found a fair maiden wandering the forests. As soon as he saw her, she vanished. A few days later he saw her again, but she was yet again too fast for him to catch her or call out to her. This happened quite a few times before he finally put a body-binding curse on her. He told her he had no intention of harming her and that he would let her go once she would just answer a few simple questions."

Intrigued, Hermione went over the notes Malfoy had written.

"Her name was Adelia. She was the young Healer in her village. Her village was facing an epidemic and she had to collect herbs everyday to replenish her inventory. She narrated how the people were dying each day and how the Lords of the land had no concern or regard for them. On prodding her further, Silvius figured that the village she belonged to was under the care of the Fawley family. He decided to speak about the matter with the then Minister of Magic, Artemisia Lufkin. She was the first woman to take the position and was then trying to start the Department of International Magical Cooperation within the Ministry. He tried to speak with Artemisia on a daily basis, but with interference from several people, including his elder brother, Septimus, he was unable to do so. Septimus believed that Silvius was up to no good and his ministrations or whatever was bothering him must be irrelevant. He met Adelia each day in the Marshlands and helped her to collect the herbs she needed. Over a few months, they fell in love. Silvius wanted to marry her but she was not only a commoner, but also a muggle born witch. He knew that Septimus would never give him permission for the match, as was required of every Malfoy member. Silvius had grown with the same kind of blood prejudice that I was fed, but unlike me, he had grown up questioning it. I personally never liked or understood it, but I decided to blindly follow whatever Lucius told me. Silvius, on the other hand used to question it day and night. He had occasionally ventured into the village with Adelia to help her heal the village folk. He had seen her potential and refused to believe the she was inferior to him in any way. He knew they bled the same. There was no difference in their blood. So he built up his courage to ask her to marry him. She was appalled because of the difference in their status and blood, to which he told her not to worry. He then went out to seek permission from the Head of the Malfoy Family, his elder brother, Septimus Malfoy."

Malfoy paused to breathe. Hermione sat there cross-legged on the chair, lost in the story that he was telling her. He could imagine being in Silvius' place. He could imagine being scared to fight for someone he loved and to fight against the bigotry he was brought up with.

"Who is the Head of the Malfoy Family now that uh…your father is gone?" Hermione asked in a meek voice.

"I am." Draco answered. He suddenly sounded like there was a lot of burden weighing him down. "And call him Lucius. I prefer it that way." He added in a matter-of-fact way.

"What happened next? He obviously never got the permission am sure?"

"Way worse. The moment Septimus got to know, he trapped Silvius in the Manor and asked the Fawley family to get rid of the 'muggle girl pretending to be a witch'. The Fawley's were finally under pressure to save the village they had ignored for so long, so they could not kill off the only healer. So, instead, they decided to trap her within the Marshlands as the land still rightfully belonged to the Sacred Twenty Eight. They set up a cottage where she was to brew all the potions needed for the treatment of the villagers. A maiden, who visited her daily, was instructed how to administer the potions and keep a check on her. A few years passed and in the early 19th century, Silvius was again free to go. The first thing he did was run off to the Marshlands. He somehow got past the additional wards and met the love of his life, Adelia. As the young maiden arrived for the day, they asked her to be a witness to their wedding. The young maiden had heard of their story and sympathized with the two, so she became the witness of them getting married with an Unbreakable Vow to protect and love each other until death did them apart. The moment they got married, her name appeared in the Malfoy Family tree. We still have it preserved in one of the storerooms. It is enchanted to add names to it magically, a fact that had slipped Silvius' mind in his excitement to meet Adelia again. They seemed to have spent the night with each other, as the journal said. But, the next day Septimus was waiting for Silvius on the outskirts of the cottage's boundaries. He knew he could not let the news escape and neither could he inform the Fawleys, so, he enchanted Silvius and the cottage such that he would never be able to find his way to the cottage or to his beloved Adelia. The family tree was then taken off the mantel on the drawing room and hidden somewhere."

"Why didn't he simply kill her?" Hermione's voice brought him out of his daze. He had started reimagining all the things in his head as he narrated.

"Silvius had taken an Unbreakable Vow to protect his new wife. If Septimus tried to kill her and Silvius did nothing to protect her, he would die. And it was natural that he would try to stop Septimus to the best of his capabilities, which meant he wouldn't stop fighting until Silvius himself was dead. So, if Septimus killed her, it meant his brother would also die automatically. But their love knew no boundaries and they were a clever duo. He yet again managed to reach the Marshlands but could not find his way to the cottage. He did not give up and kept coming back for days. Adelia on the other hand was badly missing her husband and used her wit to master the Patronus spell and tweak it such that it could guide him to her. If she had cast a full Patronus, it would mean that it would be a embodiment of her very soul, which he would not be able to see. So she crafted wisps, much like Will o'-wisps. She remembered tales about them from a traveller. He had told her of Aleya, a name for Will o'-wisps in the marshlands of the Sunderbans in Bengal, India. The folklore was that these lights entranced fishermen and often guided them to their deaths by leading them into the water and drowning them. Even in Britain, they were know to be associated with notorious creatures that often led travellers to meet their doom or make them lost in the forests, especially in Wales.  
After a month of trying to find the cottage, Silvius found a wisp; he followed it and found an entire trail. He followed it and reached the cottage where his waiting wife met him. As per the accounts in the journal, this was the night she conceived."

The Gryffindor Princess was starting to feel rather upset on behalf of the two lovers. They had to suffer only on account of blood prejudice! How pathetic could they be, really? "So they had a child?" She asked.

"Yes and No. The Fawley's needed a healer to attend to the eldest family member, a woman of about sixty years of age. They knew that Adelia was the best. So they summoned her. She was in her second month of pregnancy at that time and was not showing. They had no idea about the marriage or the child. Silvius was over the Moon with the news, but with her being summoned away he needed a way to elope with her and save her in time before she started showing obvious signs of her pregnancy. The only record of Silvius ever abusing the power of the Malfoy name was when he got a man to make him a device that would take him back to the night of their reconciliation."

"Why would he do that?"

"So that he could go back in time and stop the child from being conceived. He loved the child with all his heart, but there was no way for him to save the child and keep his wife safe." Draco grey orbs looked dreadfully sad. Hermione could see the pain he was feeling for his ancestor. He could not even imagine what Adelia would have felt. "Why not simply do an abortion or a spell instead? She was a healer after all?" Hermione asked.

"Abortions were not approved of, plus he had vowed to protect her, so by making her lose the child, he would be breaking the vow and putting himself in danger's way. Also, the moment the child would be killed; the family tree might have acted strange. No child is added to it until it's born, but if any member or rather future member is in mortal danger, the family tree informs all the members of the family. In this case, Septimus would have been informed."

"So they really had no other way." Hermione murmured looking down at the plush carpet. She felt horrible and felt an inane need to cry for the two lovers.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello!**_

 _ **More of Silvius and Adelia's story in the next chapter!**_

 _ **There are a few things I would like to let you all know.**_

 _ **1\. The Fawley's are a member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Hector Fawley was the Minister of Magic from 1925 to 1939. His term in office coincided with the beginning of Gellert Grindelwald's "For the Greater Good" revolution.**_

 _ **2\. Artimisia Lufkin later became an accomplished Minister for Magic from to , the first female ever to hold the office. She established the Department of International Magical Cooperation and lobbied hard and successfully to have a Quidditch World Cup tournament held in Britain during her term.**_

 _ **3\. Septimus Malfoy is Draco's Great Grandfather as per Pottermore. Silvius is my original character. So is Adelia.**_

 _ **Hope you like the plot! And do let me know if you would want them to be able to save the baby or not, and if yes, then what gender. I would take the inputs into account for my next chapter!**_

 _ **Mili**_


	10. Roots and Branches

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello!  
I have started working on a few fanart pieces of Photoshop to help my skills. Silvius' diary in the previous chapter was a part of the series of photos that I have worked on so far.**_

 _ **For those of you on Wattpad, you can find me**_ _ **thisgirlsisfiesty**_ _ **and follow me or this story there. I upload images of how I imagine things to be over there. Including the journal of Silvius, how the Manor looks like redone, Malfoy and Hermione in the renovated manor etc, etc. For this chapter I have uploaded a rather important element, a part of how I imagine the Malfoy Family tree to be like on Wattpad.**_

 _ **Anyway, here is the rest of the story so hope you all like it. Keep the love flowing! I have crossed 2,000 reads and that's making me super duper happy! Also, puasluoma reviewed for the previous chapter that she wants Silvius and Adelia's kid to be a baby girl. I am still considering what to do with their story so do let me know your preferences in the reviews.  
**_

 _ **Now onto the story.**_

 _ **Enjoy!  
Mili**_

* * *

Hermione could not feel how miserably helpless a man must get before he has to decide to sacrifice his own unborn child. And what must Adelia have gone through! Losing a child even before it left the womb! Hermione could only imagine the pain. She was feeling moisture starting to pool in her eyes. Hermione Granger did not cry. Not until she was extremely angry and felt like she was helpless enough to not be able to fix or harm the object of her fury. The only rare occasions she cried otherwise was when she was extremely touched by something. She had felt so much pain and empathy the last time during the Battle of Hogwarts when she had seen lifeless Lupin and Tonks lying next to each other, their hands still touching, little Teddy at home, with both his parents dead.

She sniffed back her tears as she looked outside the glass to avoid shedding any tears.

"Hermione?" Malfoy asked gently. He got up and came and sat in the seat next to hers. He put an arm around her shoulders and tried to soothe her. Even though he had his arm around her, he was trying not to touch her anywhere else. Despite the gravity of the situation, he caught a whiff of her vanilla scent and was transported back to that night. He felt perverse and tried to think of how to console her better.

Draco Malfoy had never consoled anybody in his entire life. Not even when his father was given the Dementor's kiss and his Mother had had a breakdown.

He felt uncomfortable. She could feel how, even though he was holding her, he was stiff and rigid. This time she knew it was not because he was disgusted by her blood. But because Draco had never dared to show empathy or any emotion to anyone before. Not even the Mother he deeply cared for.

The blonde Slytherin had always been told that emotions were for the weak. And he had seen a live demonstration when the Dark Lord had tortured those who showed any remorse or resistance in following his orders. Draco had to pack away his emotions. Not just on the outside, but also from within. Draco had learnt how to live like a walking and breathing corpse. And he spent many years in the same manner.

Now he was gradually starting to feel a little more human. He had started to smile when he found something funny, would openly show his resentment, and occasionally when no one was looking, he would take off his mask and let his deeds take over. He let his guilt of past deeds wash over him. He spent many sleepless nights trying to run away from it all. But sometimes, it became too consuming, too intense. And those were the nights where he felt the burden of being the Malfoy heir, of the burden to carry on the legacy of his bloodline, of trying to fight the hatred people felt for his family and of being alone, all alone in this world.

He knew how it felt to be fighting alone. And he would not wish for it to befall on his worst enemies. He had never truly detested Potter, Hermione or even the Weasleys as a child. But he had definitely been immensely envious of the trio. They had found family in each other. Even the orphan Chosen One had a family. Malfoy had no one except his Mother.

As he sat there, trying to make sure that Hermione was alright, he felt her shift in his hold. She was hugging him and had her head resting on his chest. She felt him stiffen, but he gradually relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. She could hear his heart beating and for the first time Hermione realised that this was perhaps one of the rarest occasions, if not the first, that Draco Malfoy was opening up to someone; making himself emotionally available. She sniffed again and was feeling a lot better. Her thoughts clouded with the tragedies that the Malfoy heir had faced and those that his ancestor had to go through.

She heard a murmur. "They had the baby. Healthy and happy. I believe they did, at least." Hermione looked up to see that Draco was looking past the glass wall. He wasn't actually looking at anything, just staring off into the distance. He moved his arms so that she was comfortable as he continued the story.

"Silvius had the time turner with him before the end of Adelia's third month of pregnancy. The two used to owl each other using aliases. She managed to flee the Flawey Estate undetected and moved towards the Forbidden Forests as was decided. She left a trail of Will o'-wisps for Silvius to follow. Silvius found her in the dark of the night and they both had their first fight. Adelia wanted them to elope, Silvius wanted to bid time to get Septimus to listen to him. Silvius knew there was no way that they could ever actually escape. The Malfoys had enough connections that they would be traced even if they fled to the Americas. Silvius wanted his child to get the Malfoy name the child deserved and was willing to wait for it. Adelia did not want to lose her precious child. They devised a plan. They would elope. Using time."

Hermione was startled and extremely confused. She moved out his hold and looked at him, "What do you mean by 'elope using time'?"

"They used the time turner to escape. They probably escaped to some other time period. Who knows? That is the last thing mentioned in the journal. The journal ends with this. Silvius had agreed and they probably went ahead with the plan."

"Why would he leave behind his journal for his family to discover?" Hermione's mind was reeling. She had used the Ministry issued time-turner in her third year for extra classes, but they had a five-hour limit so as to not disturb the chain of events. The one Silvius had got made seemed to be of a much more sinister nature as it let one go back in time by months!

"I have the same question in mind. Why would he leave behind the journal for us to find? He wanted to escape, so why leave the clues behind?" Draco was wondering this aloud more to the Manor than to Hermione. Sometimes he felt as if the Manor was an entity in itself and would lend him answers. The Manor had really old magic within its walls and it was known that when its owners were in danger or despair, that same magic had shown them the way. Draco was hoping the magic had helped Silvius, but more than that, he was hoping for a miracle to help him solve the case. A miracle bigger than Hermione Granger seeking comfort in his arms.

"Can I read the journal?" Hermione asked after a few moments of shared silence. Draco let her go and handed her the said journal. He decided that while she could go through the journal, he could look up some more about time travel and his family history.

He decided to go find the only other Malfoy who knew the answers. His Mother.

As he was about to leave the library, he heard Hermione as where he was off to. "I am going to find my Mother. She might know something that could be of value to us." She nodded as she settled back into the armchair to read and he left.

As he took a left and came across a set of heavy wooden doors, he knocked. "Come in." said a polished feminine voice. As he entered, he saw Narcissa Malfoy sitting on a deep brown plush chaise and reading. She looked up from her book and gestured for him to come sit next to her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she smiled. "Don't be like that Mother." Draco said.

"You are spending more time than ever in the Manor, for which I am glad. But, I guess your mother is a little too old to hold any interest for you. Or is it some other young Gryffindor who has bewitched you?" she exclaimed with a glint in her eye. Draco found himself looking away at her words as he denied her accusations. "I just wanted to ask you what you know about Silvius Malfoy, the younger brother of my Great Grandfather, Septimus Malfoy. And if you know anything about us Malfoys in connection with the Marshlands?"

"Strange questions you ask my Son. However, since I know this must be for the case you are working on, I will tell you the best I know. Silvius was the black sheep, as you already must know. What became of him and his beloved, I do not know. But I do know that his disappearance had something to do with him escaping to the Marshlands. He probably spent the rest of his days in there for all I know. But you should check the family tree. I would recommend that."

"Why the family tree mother?"

"Because last I saw it was when you were born and your name appeared on it after your christening. I had seen it before that, of course, right after my wedding to your father. It had a name next to Silvius'. The name escapes me, but it was there. I had no idea who they were and was too mesmerised by the heirloom to pay any heed. By the time you were born, I knew that it was best that I don't ask any questions about them. But the fact remained that when we saw the family tree after your christening, the name next to Silvius' had vanished and there was a blank spot in place of his own name as if he existed but was yet to be christened."

"Where is it?" Draco stood up.

"Ask the elves. They must know. And Draco, don't put too much burden on yourself, okay? You have suffered enough for the sake of this family. There's nothing more that you can do to salvage it."

"I'll keep that in mind Mother."

In a matter of minutes, Hermione was rushing through the halls behind the young Malfoy. He had instructed the elves to find it and keep it ready for them while he fetched Granger. He had filled her in on the news that his mother had told him. It was inevitable that she would not find out the secrets anyway. Plus, he would somehow prefer her knowing his family secrets more than anybody else. It felt like she not only understood his plight but also felt too deeply for Silvius and Adelia to make a ruckus out of it.

As soon as they neared the doors of the attic of the Manor, Draco heard the door open before they even reached the room. Two elves stood on top of two old chests of drawers. They were holding up the silk tapestry of the family tree for Draco and Hermione to view. They had cleaned and dusted it to perfection.

Suddenly he heard Hermione gasp loudly. He whipped his head around and saw her staring intently at the family tree. When he traced down the names to Silvius', he saw exactly what his mother had described. A blank space in place of his name with no mention of any spouse or child. He could not understand why did it surprise Hermione so much since he had already told her of his findings. He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"No Draco. Look here!" She said pointing a finger a few generations down. Before he could register the fact that she had called him Draco again for probably the second or third time in his life, he saw his own name. An empty counter had appeared next to his own name. It had no name in it, but it sat there waiting.

"Are you engaged or uh...married secretly?" Hermione looked at him with shock written all over her face. "No! I am as single as I could possibly be! What the bloody Hell is happening in here! I have absolutely no idea! Why do I have a nameless wife!"

"Do you think we should ask Narcissa?" asked the baffled witch.

"Absolutely not! She has been after my life to get married. This will only give her more encouragement. No, wait! I sure hope she hasn't meddled and arranged for me to marry one of those pureblood bred bimbos! Oh God!" With that, Draco stormed out of the room with Hermione fast at his heels, trying to calm him down.

He barged into his mother's chambers and bellowed, "Did you fix my marriage to some daft witch without my knowledge?!"  
She looked at him in utter confusion and said, "I thought you made it clear that you were not interested in any of them. So, no. I have not fixed you up with any of them. Although, they are not daft Draco. They are a little dull, I may admit. But Astoria Greengrass is better than all of them. I can ask her mother to arrange for the two of you to have dinner together if you want?"

"I want no such thing! And if you haven't fixed my marriage, as you so claim, then can you explain why does our family tree have a blank space for a spouse next to my name? And not only that but an entire branch of my alleged fiancée's family too?!" Hermione held his arm and was constantly trying to murmur things to calm him down. He seemed to be totally oblivious of her presence. Hermione gave an embarrassed and apologetic smile to the Malfoy Matriarch. She did not want to witness this conversation, but at the same time, it did not seem like a good idea to leave a raging Draco alone with his mother.

Narcissa got off the chaise and started walking towards her only son. "Draco I know how alone you get. I only want the best for you, but I swear that I have done no such thing. But, maybe the family tree knows more than I do. Maybe you have secretly picked a bride for yourself and won't tell your old mother about her."

"No. I have not picked anyone as you are implying. I barely know any girl to date let alone to bring home as my wife. Plus, who will want to marry me with the tarnished Malfoy reputation and the ex-Death Eater tag? I am soiled goods mother. And whoever picks me has to pick me for who I am, not for the money I have to my name." Hermione had always seen Malfoy as a proud haughty individual. Even during his trials, post the war, he was always calm and stood tall. Suddenly it felt like she was seeing through the mirage, the reality of who Draco Malfoy really was. It felt as if she was involuntarily invading his privacy as if she was where she wasn't supposed to be through no fault of her own.

Later when the situation had calmed down a bit, the duo returned to the library with unanswered questions. Both of them were scanning the shelves when suddenly Draco heard Hermione speak. He turned to see her with a few books in her hand and a soft yet determined look on her face.

"You are a wonderful person Draco. You are not tainted. You are scarred, just like all of us who fought in the War. You may have started on the Dark side but what matters is that you finished with the Light side. You never let the prejudice you grew up with dictate your inner self. Even if you had to strangle your emotions and put them to rest. Not everyone can do that you know? It's remarkable. Really. I always respected you for the strength you exhibited after the war. But today I feel you should know, you are not alone. I am there for you if you need me, you know? Even Harry. Blaise is also always there for you. So are Pansy and Theo in some way or the other. You need to stop punishing yourself. We are always going to be there for you. You just need to let us in."


	11. Aleya

One thing was for sure. There was no way they could escape a visit to the Marshlands. No matter the amount of danger, they knew they had to do it. But they needed a foolproof way of doing so without losing out on the information the two had gathered in case of any mishap. As much as Draco hated spreading the Malfoy beans everywhere, he knew they had to do the inevitable. They had to get Potter involved. Before Hermione left for the day, they had decided to call Harry in the next day. It was decided that they would leave out the recent strange behaviour of the Family Tree Tapestry. Both knew it was the best to keep anything absurd related to Draco out of the picture for now.

As Hermione reached her flat, she felt the actual burden of their findings take a toll on her. She had seen a new side of Malfoy. She had seen how burdened and guilt-stricken he was. He had not forgiven himself for all the bad that he had done. She slumped down against the kitchen wall as she finally let loose and cried. She wept for Silvius and Adelia. She wept for their unborn child. She wept for all those that suffered because of the baseless prejudices. She wept for those that were lost in the War. But most of all, she wept for Draco.

She dragged herself up and got into the bed. That night she slept dreaming of hidden cottages, dark forests, Will-o'-wisps and troubled stormy grey eyes.

Next day morning, she was up early and ready to leave for the Manor. She had owled Harry to meet them there in about half an hour's time.

At nearly half past nine, Draco & Hermione were seated in the library. Harry would be there any minute now. As if on cue, an elf knocked the door to announce his arrival. The duo stood up as Harry entered the library. The sombre demeanour they had worried Harry.

"Come sit down Harry." Said Hermione patting a place next to her on the sofa while Draco asked an elf to bring in some tea and biscuits.

"So?" Harry looked at them expectantly.  
"Best you tell him, Granger." Draco urged.

Hermione knew the pressure that was mounting on the young Malfoy and did not want to add the burden of explaining the predicament to Harry on him. So, she narrated all that they had found out till then to Harry. From finding the diary to the relevance of the Will-o'-wisps, the tragic story of Silvius and Adelia. They left out any mention of the Family Tapestry. Had they mentioned anything about Silvius' name on it, Harry would have wanted to examine it and in turn, would notice the blank counter next to Draco's name. That was one riddle Draco would rather solve himself.

"How can I help you both? Do you need more texts? Sources? Or even permissions to look in more places?" Harry asked. He was genuinely really concerned now. All that they had told him seemed to fit into the puzzle that lay in front of them, yet large chunks of it were still missing.

"Potter, we need you to make a few investigations. We tried to figure out who made the time turner for Silvius but found no leads. And his seemed to be of the indefinite kinds, something special, the kind that only the Ministry holds records to. The Ministry has banned and regulated Time Turners since fairly recent times, so hopefully your Ministry records and sources can bring up something. At least we will know what we are looking for or what happened to them."

"Okay. Terry and I will conduct the investigations personally considering the sensitivity of the matter at hand. Cannot tarnish the Malfoy name over nothing." Harry looked at Draco.

"Thanks, mate." Draco said in all sincerity.

"And Harry, we both were planning to visit the Marshlands today. To see if we can find any trace of the cottage, now that we have a fair idea of where and what to look for. We won't be needing any reinforcements. We know it's some ancient magic at play and not any dark wizards. Plus, we both are enough trained and well versed with duelling skills."  
Hermione was seriously hoping Harry would get convinced. She knew that she was trying a longshot, but no harm in trying at least.  
"Plus, if you send anyone with us, and some strange magic does affect us, neither of us nor the reinforcements will be able to help anyone. The more people you send, the more we put in danger." Draco added.

Harry sighed and looked at the two of them. "And you say I have a hero complex Malfoy? See, I understand you trying to put a lesser amount of lives at stake. But you both are not employed by the Ministry to do so, thus, I cannot let you guys go alone. However, I can send a bunch of Aurors to go have a look in your place. What say?"

"I have a feeling Malfoy should be there. I am sure it will help to have him there to break some wards or spell, maybe. It's his ancestor after all."  
Draco nodded in agreement and exclaimed, "Exactly!"

"Well, then Draco can go. But _with_ reinforcements. You will have to back." Harry hated sounding like an over-protective mother, but he knew the two of them. If they put their mind to something, they wouldn't stop at anything, not even if their lives were at stake. He couldn't let them risk their lives like that. Harry had to concede to Malfoy going because it involved his ancestor, but he could not justify risking Hermione's life. Not again. Never again on his watch.

"Yes, okay. But no more than two Aurors, Potter." Draco did not want a bunch of amateur Aurors buzzing around him while he was trying to find things in the Marshlands.

Hermione stood up and looked at both the men with anger filled eyes. "No, it is _not okay._ It is not fair that he has to risk his life and I can't because of a surname he shares with a certain individual involved. I am employed by the Ministry at least! I have every right to go find out about these things! No Harry. You cannot tell me that I get to go into hiding with you and Ron for months, break through Gringotts, destroy Horcruxes and help you defeat Voldemort but I cannot go into the Marshlands." She really was seething with anger and that scared Harry very much. he owed her his life, literally. Had it not been for her he would be rotting away in some unmarked grave, in a world where Voldemort won.

"Please, Harry. Don't give us permission if you don't want to, but you can always pretend that we never warned you? You know the reinforcements would be unnecessary. We both are any case more skilled than most Aurors."

"Hermione is right. I would rather go alone and fix whatever my ancestor started. But I know that Hermione won't give up and would follow me anyway if I went, so might as well let us go together and not bring in more liabilities along with us." Draco explained.

Harry looked conflicted. He knew arguing with his best friend was a rather waste of time. She never truly gave up and one simply could not beat her at logic or wits. Plus, on the other hand, there was Draco Malfoy, he surely knew how to get the things he wanted to himself. No matter the consequence. He knew he was fighting a lost battle. His shoulders sagged, "Okay. I will. But keep me posted. Hermione, you still have your DA coin? Can you send me the coordinates of your location as soon as you reach there via the coin? The Marshlands have no cellular network and owls and any other wizarding form of communication won't be possible."

Hermione hugged Harry and smiled. "You are the best. I will send the coordinates as soon as we see anything out of place. And I promise to keep us safe. Don't worry!"

Draco felt a pang of jealousy as he saw the two best friends. There was no one who cared for him to that extent. The thought always saddened him. He found himself looking away. He felt like he did not belong.  
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see harry behind him. Harry hugged him with a pat on the back. "Stay safe Malfoy and keep her safe too. She has a tendency to get carried away when researching." Harry smiled. Draco felt a little better as he responded with a determined look on his face, "I will."

By noon, the pair had made their way from the Forbidden Forests to the Marshlands on foot. Had they apparated directly into the Marshlands, they would have triggered the Ministry wards. Every now and then, Hermione would imagine seeing a Will-o'-wisp and Draco would cluck hs tongue at her and laugh at her. She was beginning to lose hope and so was Draco. Just as the forest got deep and dark enough for no sunlight to pass through the canopy, Hermione almost tripped over a root in the ground.

"Careful!" Draco held her by the shoulders and pulled her towards him. She murmured a sorry as they marched ahead. Draco stayed close to her after that since he had promised Potter to keep her safe. What if she tripped again?

Draco thought he was also imagining things like her when he heard her gasp in astonishment. "Malfoy, look!" she said pointing her finger to a blue wisp-like source of light.

"There must be more to follow!" She sounded as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

She wrapped her petite warm hand in his and dragged him along. Even though he was nervous out of his wits, holding hands with her somehow made it all better. Suddenly he recalled the strange magic the place held and pulled her back.

"What?" She seemed puzzled. "Let me go ahead. There's less chance of Silvius' magic hurting be because I am also a Malfoy. And don't leave my hand. It will probably make sure that you also stay immune to the spell."  
Hermione shifted closer to him as they walked ahead. Soon they could see an entire trail, a beautiful glowing trail of wisps!

Draco moved ahead and gestured for her to make no noise. They could hear their hearts beating loudly over the jungle noises. They were nervous and had jumped into it blindly. They had discussed the repercussions with Harry and each other, but they knew that this had to be done.  
They took small soundless steps until Draco saw a cottage in view. He felt Hermione starting to tense in excitement. She also must have spotted the roof.

As they reached its front, they realised that it was impeccably clean and spotless. There was no dust, no cobwebs and only a few vines growing over it, rather aesthetically. Someone must still live here! They moved towards the front porch which seemed to have an old oak door. As they stood there, Draco used his free hand to knock on the door. The two still stood there holding hands.

After a while when no one answered, Hermione tried a simple Alohomora and the door swung open. They looked at each other and Draco decided it was best for him to go in first. Just as he was about to step in, Hermione held him back.

"What if you get pulled into some spell the moment you step in alone? Holding hands won't stop anything to keep you safe!" She whispered.

"Then what do you want me to do Granger?"

It felt rather nice how his hand completely engulfed her petite one and seemed to fit perfectly. He wouldn't admit it, but he was scared and holding hands seemed to be his only source of courage for now.

"Why don't we enter together? In all honesty am more afraid of being left alone in here. Irrespective of which one of us gets affected by the spell." Hermione's Gryffindor courage seemed to have escaped her because she could feel it in her bones that there was something amiss with the place. And they both knew, even if they hadn't said it out aloud, they could feel some powerful magic around them.

"Me too." Draco admitted.

"I don't know who cast the last spell on this house, but if it was Septimus then it could be that anyone who wasn't a Malfoy might get harmed. I don't want to risk it with you. But am equally terrified of leaving you behind...I have an idea."

Draco pushed the door open and turned towards Hermione. He let go of her hand, looked straight into her eyes and said, "Trust me."  
She nodded as she felt him wrap his arms behind her neck and the back of her knees. He had picked her up bridal style as he walked over the threshold.

They felt some really old and powerful magic engulf them. As if it was in the very air of the place, but nothing happened.

Draco stood there looking around when Hermione said, "I guess it's safe to put me down." She was looking anywhere but at him and was thankful for the little graces in her life, like the lack of light in there because she could feel her cheeks burning. It had reminded her of that night and how Draco might have picked her up that way to put her on the sofa or the floor so that he could have his way with her. The thought made her all tingly.  
Draco's thoughts matched hers. He imagined picking her up and throwing her on the bed to ravish her.

They had rather keep the thoughts away, they realised, as they started to look around the cottage. The cottage had, what seemed like a sitting room with an open kitchen to the left. There were windows that overlooked a garden patch on the right.

Ahead of them, lay two doors. Each led to a bedroom and a bathroom, they assumed. Draco went ahead and unlocked them while Hermione tried to assess the content of the first room.

"Draco! There is food here, but it is not spoilt! And not a speck of dust anywhere! Not even any insects or rodents! That is terribly absurd!" He agreed because the bedroom seemed untouched too. There was nobody in the house, yet everything looked in an immaculate condition. But the strangest part was everything was from a different era. Even though Wizard fashion and trends changed very little over the years, he knew that all that was there in the cottage belonged to another century entirely.

"Regency. All of this belongs to the Regency Era! Of the time when Silvius and Adelia vanished!" Hermione said holding up a Daily Prophet which had the dates marked on it. Draco moved over to take a look. As Hermione fumbled around with the shelves and drawers, she came across a rather beautiful piece of jewellery.

"Look." She whispered in awe of the piece. She was not the kind who would choose jewellery over other sensible gifts, but this piece was exquisite.

The sole occupant of the drawer was a beautiful emerald neck piece. It was four rows of diamonds set in single straight lines. Right in the middle, sat a beautiful emerald. It automatically reminded her of the Slytherin house and the Malfoys. It had to be a family heirloom. But why would anyone leave it here?

"This can't be! My Mother has this in her jewellery chest! This is a family heirloom! It belonged to the first Malfoy's wife and has been passed down ever since. It is gifted to every bride or when a Malfoy wife becomes pregnant. It is said to have protective spells in it for the wearer." Draco's head was reeling.

"Don't touch it. It might be cursed." They both were thinking of the cursed necklace that Malfoy had tried to use to kill Dumbledore back in their sixth year and how Katie Bell had become its victim instead.

He looked outside and saw that even though they had spent a large amount of time, it still seemed like there was Sunlight over the thick canopy of the trees. "What's the time, any idea?"

"It's 1:25." Hermione checked again and then again.  
Draco looked at her in confusion.  
"How is that possible, we entered the Marshlands around noon and it must have been at least three hours since then!"  
"Your watch might be broken? See the seconds arm isn't moving."  
Hermione was panicking because she knew the involvement of the time turner. Even though she knew that Draco was trying to comfort her and it made sense, she had to be sure. So, she turned to the grandfather clock kept in the corner of the room.

It showed the same time, 1:25 p.m. right down to the seconds.

The next sentence that left her lips terrorised them. "I think we are stuck in time." she gulped.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hey!**_

 _ **So I hope you all like where the story is headed. And I would love for you all to put in some guesses as to what may happen next!  
Until next time! (Probably tomorrow)**_

 _ **Take care**_

 _ **Mili**_


	12. Vice Versa

"Bloody Hell. Hermione come here!"

Both of them had been looking around the room for some clue. They had decided that even though the sensible thing to do was to return, they did not know what lay ahead of them, outside the Marshlands now.

Malfoy was crouched on the floor. As Hermione drew closer, she realised he was looking at something under the floorboards or rather something that used to be under the floor boards. He had managed to pry away a board to reveal a pair of earrings that clearly belonged with the necklace that they had earlier found.  
She squat down next to him to get a better look. The earrings glimmered in the _Lumos_ spell that Malfoy's wand was casting. "I saw something shine under the floor boards through the cracks. And even though they look like they match the necklace, I have never seen these in my entire life. My mother may have had too much of jewellery, but I would at least remember this set for sure. She has shown me the necklace many times to remind me that it's high time I get a bride home." He said looking at the earrings.

Hermione felt self-conscious for a second. She had absolutely no idea why. Draco had not even looked at her but his tone made her feel butterflies. He had not even implied anything! She must be losing her mind. That is what the spell must be at this place!

"You think we should pick them up?" She asked.

Draco and Hermione carefully moved and lifted the box together.

 _'Nos tempus est huius'_

Hermione whispered the words as she read them off the side of the box, giving a questioning look to Draco who just shrugged. It seemed familiar to Hermione, but she could not place it. She was sure she hadn't used it before or read it recently, but she definitely had read about it at some point in her life.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning outside the cottage. The light was so powerful that it blinded the duo. It wasn't like the lightning that came with a storm, rather it was like the powerful flash of a camera that made you blind and sway for a few moments. Hermione put down the earrings next to the necklace as they rushed outside, wands ready in their hand.

"Who are you?" they heard an alarmed feminine voice from behind them. They turned to see a young girl, in her late teens, standing there looking perplexed. She wore dark robes under which one could see a full-length dress in gauzy fabric. It rather reminded Hermione of the nightgowns her Grandmama used to wear.

Hermione stuttered. She did not know if they were trespassing and she was still hoping that she was wrong and they were still in the present times. She stole a glance at her watch and saw that the second's hand was now moving and the time had moved a little beyond 1:25. This meant that they were now stuck in time!

Draco moved towards the girl, who by now looked extremely scared of the witch and wizard standing before her with their wands drawn. "I won't hurt you. I just need to ask you something. What is your name? We promise we won't hurt you."  
Draco knew her name was Lydia. And that she was here to find Adelia. He realised it the moment he had turned around and looked through her mind. Draco was skilled at both Legilimency and Occlumency. Living around Death Eaters and with the Dark Lord himself had taught Draco constant vigilance, like Moody, would say. Vigilance even in protecting his thoughts. They were back in time. They were bloody well back sometime in the 1800's! He was panicking, but for the sake of Hermione and the girl in front of him, he had to act collected.

"I am Lydia. And who may you be?"

"I am Draco. Draco Malfoy. I am a distant relative of Silvius Malfoy. I hail from France. We have never met before but I wish to see my cousin on some business. The village folk told me he might be here." Draco fibbed. Hermione's eyes widened and she almost gave a panicked shriek before she decided they must play along. Wherever they were, whatever time period it was, they had to keep their heads safe.

Lydia seemed to weigh in his statement but looked distrustful of them. "What business do you have with Master Silvius, Sir?" The girl was smart and though she looked meek, she had courage. Draco had to admit that much.

"There are some family jewels that I must take possession of. I was told he knows the whereabouts of those. I am to get married soon and my bride must wear the Malfoy necklace on her wedding day."

Hermione was fairly impressed how Draco was trying to find out about the jewellery as well as Silvius from Lydia, without making it sound suspicious, all at once.

"How do I know you are not lying?" Lydia said in a haughty manner.

"He is a Malfoy. Can't you see the blonde hair, pale skin and pointy face? Of course, he is a Malfoy. They all look the same." Hermione said. She wasn't even lying. He was a Malfoy, just from a different era.

"And who are you? And why are you wearing these strange clothes?" Lydia gave Hermione a suspicious look. Hermione stood there trying to think of something to say, in her muggle clothing of a pair of denim jeans, a blouse and a jacket. Hermione was at a loss of words as she looked at Draco. "Her clothes and all our possessions got stolen while she was bathing at a lake on our way here so we had to make do with whatever was left with a vagabond who was nearby."

Lydia seemed satisfied with his explanation. "So you are his bride? The one who has to wear the Malfoy necklace?" Hermione opened her mouth to say no, but Draco beat her to it. "No. She isn't the one. Unfortunately not. She is a dear friend of mine since we were, but children. She insisted on coming with me on my little journey."

"Ladies don't come alone without an escort or a carriage. We might not be muggles but there are some rules to the society even in the Wizarding world, Sire!" Lydia sounded appalled.

"Fine. We will tell you the truth." Hermione retorted. Draco turned around to glare at Hermione as if she had completely lost her mind.

"We wanted to elope. We love each other dearly, but I am a common muggle born witch, you see. And he is a French pureblood wizard. He really is getting married to a wretched pureblooded girl soon and was supposed to take that necklace from Silvius for his wedding, but I joined him so that we can take that necklace and run away. We plan to sell it so that we can start a new life and get married. We hoped to meet Silvius because we were sure he would understand our plight. After all, he loves Adelia equally. News travels fast between the Malfoy Manor and Draco's home."

Draco was blown away with Hermione's story. She had come up with a brilliant backstory. They had both read the journal and knew that the unnamed girl who used to help Adelia was sympathetic towards the lovelorn couple and wanted them to have a happy ending. Hermione had used that very sympathy to gain her trust.

Lydia visibly relaxed a little. "Come inside. I will give you a change of clothes."

As they entered the cottage, they realised everything was exactly the same. However, the floorboard that they had taken off and the necklace and earrings that were kept on top of a chest of drawers were all gone. But nobody had stepped in or out after them! But this hardly surprised them. They had managed to travel back in time so this could hardly be the most shocking incident of the day!

"These are Lady Lydia's. You can change in the bed chamber." Lydia said as she handed Hermione a blush pink chemise gown. Draco made himself comfortable on the sofa while he kept his eye on Lydia. A few minutes later, Hermione stepped out looking rather out of place if one were to go by her expression. But she looked every bit a true lady to Draco. He was instantly reminded of the Yule Ball when she had showed up looking radiant in a blue gown on Viktor Krum's arm. Despite his bigoted hatred for her, he had had to admit to Blaise that he would have snogged her that night, if, given the chance, blood prejudice be damned.

"Excuse me m'lord, m'lady, but you two remind me so much of Master Silvius and Lady Silvia that I cannot quite contain myself. I have kept this to myself for a few days now, but I must tell someone. I need help!" Lydia suddenly looked like her meek, scared self again.

Hermione moved towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What is troubling you, dear Lydia?" It was rather weird for Hermione to speak like she belonged in a Jane Austen novel, but thank God for all the time she had spent reading those and analysing the women characters. She could at least pretend to speak like she belonged in this era. She was sure she had heard Draco stifle a laugh at her attempt.

Suddenly Lydia broke down into a flurry of tears. In between sobs, she started to narrate her tale. "Lady Adelia is supposed to reach the Fawley Estate by sundown, tomorrow, to treat Lady Fawley. But she wanted to meet Master Silvius before she left. I stayed here to give her company but left them soon. I did not want to be intruding on the little time that they had for each other. I returned after collecting a few herbs and they were gone. There was absolutely no trace of them anywhere! I have been trying to look for them ever since! What should I do?"

"When did they vanish?" Hermione asked. The journal entry had ended at two months of her pregnancy after Adelia had spent a few weeks at the Estate. But as per what Lydia was saying, Adelia never made it to the Estate!

"It was a day after the Summer Market, so it should be the eleventh of April."

As far as Draco remembered, the last journal entries were somewhere around the end of May. Which meant that as of eleventh of April, neither was Adelia supposed to be in the Estate, and nor did she know for sure about her pregnancy.

Hermione gave Draco a knowing look as she tried to console the girl. "Shh..it doesn't become of a young girl to cry like this Lydia."

"Sorry M'lady." She sobbed. "I don't even know your name! And here I am busy crying. I apologise! It's just that if Lady Adelia does not turn up at the Estate in time, they will start a man-hunt for the two of them and the hunt won't end in anything good. I fear for their lives!"

"What if we send better healers? Or any other skilled healers in her place? I am sure they wouldn't bother to send a search party for a healer who has been banished then." Draco said in a thoughtful voice.

Lydia looked up with tear filled eyes, now brimming with hope. "Yes, that should work. But where will we find such healers!"

Draco gave Hermione a pointed look. "My Lady here is rather well versed with a lot of healing spells and am pretty good with potions even if I do say this myself."

"Draco I can heal injuries, not ailments!" Hermione said.

"But you are a fast learner, aren't you? And if you have the gist of healing spells, they are not very different from each other, are they?" He picked out a book from one of the shelves.  
"Hermione there are no real mediwitches here yet. St. Mungo's is an infirmary, so whatever you know, combined with your muggle knowledge, it is still superior to whatever anybody else of this time would know." He whispered leaning in.  
Hermione turned towards him and hushed him. "But why do you want to get involved?"  
"How else are you planning to gain a fake identity to get us access to the either the Manor or the Estate so that we can figure out what to do and to return in our own time? You surely don't expect that we can keep sitting here and things will fix themselves?"

How dare he treat her like a daft dimbo. Of course, she was not planning to sit here idle! She just wasn't gifted with the cunning and wicked Slytherin way of thinking as he was. She gave him a sour look and reluctantly agreed.

Lydia looked relieved but jumped into action once she realised she had to prepare trunks of clothes and belongings for the alleged healers. She set to work. "What will you tell them? Who are you? I can tell them that Adelia sent for you as she felt you both were even better than her and she wanted only the best for the Fawley matriarch."

"That should do. Whereas for us, you can say we are travelling healers. My name can be Draco...uh...Zabini and this is my wife Hermione Zabini." He was reminded of his best friend Blaise. It felt weird that the Zabinis did not even exist in Britain yet. They were still only there in the villas of Italy. Thus, he thought it would be safe surname to use. If anyone asked, he could always lie that his Father was an Italian who had abandoned him as a child. His own Father was even worse, anyway.

"I am no wife of yours! And we must not change the order of things!" came Hermione's reaction.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and he sighed. He knew that she was right and they should not toy with the chain of events but things were already strange in this reality. "Do we have any other choice?" He simply asked. Hermione was always righteous and courageous, however, she was also gifted with a rather sensible head. She knew this was the only option they had, so she reluctantly said yes.

Draco had eyed the floorboard and knew that the earrings were not there. But they had been there a while back. The floor board was a little loose he could make out like someone had forgotten to fit it back properly. As Lydia left for the bedroom, Draco quickly opened the drawer and saw the necklace. Carefully without touching it, he put it in a pocket inside his robes.

Within an hour, they were ready to leave. As they left the cottage, they decided they must visit it as much as possible under the pretext of collecting herbs every day. They did not want to miss any clue or opportunity. As the Sun went down that day, the two embarked on a journey, with Lydia leading them through the Marshlands, as man and wife, even if it was all a ploy.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello!**_

 _ **I absolutely love you all for reading, following and reviewing Vexed! But it would make me even happier if you could hit the vote and share button! So please do!**_

 _ **Also, a huge thank you to all the people who have favourited/ reviewed/ followed Vexed! I make it a point to respond to all the reviews, but still thank you, you all are the best! And**_ _ **mega700201, thank you for your review! You have your personal messages turned off so I can only leave a message here**_ __

 _ **Also, all the pictures and fanart that I have created for this story are available on my blog on Wordpress! You can find the post on the link below:  
**_ 2017/01/08/vexed-a-dramione-fanfiction/

 _ **Do leave your reviews. They keep me writing and happy. The more the reviews, the faster I get motivated to write!**_

 _ **Until then :)**_

 _ **Mili**_


	13. Healers

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **And we have made it into the Regency era! So to celebrate that, there will be a piece of lemon in this chapter. Slightly.**_

 _ **NOT for innocent eyes. But this does have an important plot point in it so if you can skip sentences and read, then you are cool.**_

 _ **Also, a heartfelt thank you to my reviewers who keep me so motivated! So a huge shout out to puasluoma, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, Ariel Nicholas913, RisaliaDragneel, mega700201, Kathrynrose42, kei, sarenia, LightofEvolution and bennettfan84. You guys are the best!**_

 _ **A little more love with the vote and share button would get me the much needed reads guys, so please hit like and share if you like this story!**_

 _ **And if you want to have a look at any of the jewellery or places mentioned, you can head over to my blog later:  
**_ _ **2017/01/08/vexed-a-dramione-fanfiction/**_ _ **  
**_

 _ **Mili**_

Hermione had transfigured her shoes to slippers more acceptable of that time. She had put a cushioning charm on them, yet they hurt. She pitied the women who had gone through years of such uncomfortable clothing. Thank God she had landed up in a time where there were no corsets at least! She was all for dressing up for occasions, but such torture each day would have surely suffocated her. How she missed her comfortable jeans and jacket!

She stumbled yet again and was now visibly grumbling. Draco quirked an eyebrow at her and offered an arm. Hermione gave him a determined look and started to move ahead on her own. Suddenly she slipped on a loose rock and was tumbling down when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and hauled her up. Draco Malfoy held Hermione in his arm and was smugly smirking at her. She wanted to rip that smirk off his arrogant face, but she knew that he had been right to offer his arm to her even if he seemed to be rather amused with her plight. It was rather thoughtful of him, she had to admit. But skies would fall the day she would admit that to him.

"Now will you let me hold you, my Lady?" He asked with a grin. Hermione looked away but slipped her hand in his as they continued their journey. Draco smiled to himself while Hermione tried to not be so cross with him for being nice. She knew she was just confused because she could handle Draco being snarky, but she felt completely clueless about how to react when he was being nice. This was a side of Malfoy that always caught her off guard.

Lydia was leading them ahead with their trunks charmed to fit into her pockets. Malfoy was glad that since he was a child, he was taught to always carry enough galleons on him. He felt the sack of galleons in a pocket deep within his robes and felt a tad bit secure.

As they neared a village, Draco took in his surroundings. "Lydia, where can we get a carriage on hire?"

Lydia stopped and turned around. "At the railway station m'lord."

"Very well. Then lead the way?" Draco gestured.

Hermione seemed to tug at his arm as she whispered frantically. "Why do we need a carriage!?"

"Because I maybe pretending to be a Zabini, but I am a Malfoy. And we like making an entrance. Plus, if we were to make them believe that we are reputed healers, we must be loaded enough to be able to afford a train and a carriage. Plus, I cannot let my new wife torture her feet anymore, can I?" He smiled. Hermione felt her insides flip at the comment. Malfoy really knew how to manipulate her and shut her up.

As they boarded the carriage, Draco requested her to aid them at the Estate as they were not real healers, to which she happily consented. Hermione had to sit next to Draco for the ride, as was expected of a newly married bride. Draco had declared that he wanted them to pretend that they were newly married as then people would leave them be and they wouldn't have to mingle around with others and only pretend to have eyes for each other. Even though this vaguely made sense, Hermione knew it was his ploy to take a rise out of her.

As the carriage moved ahead, they reached uphill and massive iron gates came into view. Lydia got off the carriage to open the wards for them to pass through. The road took a curve and the Fawley Estate came into view. It was a massive stone structure and rather imposing.

"It's nothing when compared to the Manor." Malfoy chuckled.

Hermione gave him an irritated look as she felt her nerves jitter. She had fought Death Eaters and stood by Harry as he defeated Voldemort, but to lie to people about her identity and pretend to be Malfoy's wife for an indefinite amount of time still made her extremely nervous.

Lydia got off the carriage first and asked an elf to announce that Lord and Lady Zabini had arrived from Italy. She had owled them earlier about the situation that healers that Adelia had called from Italy would be arriving today.

Two elves greeted them at the entrance and their trunks were taken away by one of them, while another asked them to follow him to see the young Master of the House, Lord Hector Fawley. While he might not know it yet, but he was to be the next Minister of Magic.

"Well hello Mister Zabini, please have a seat." Fawley said shaking hands with Draco.

The study, where they were brought in, was comfortably large. It wasn't ostentatiously large like the one at the Manor, thought Hermione. The man of the house, a young Hector Fawkley sat at a wide oak table, writing on some parchments. The walls were lined with shelves of documents and artefacts on display. A large window opened up to the view of the hills in the distance. Two armchairs awaited them at the other end of the table.

"This is my wife, Hermione." said Draco as they approached the table.

"Pleased to meet you, my Lord." Hermione curtsied as Hector bowed to her.

"You look lovely my lady. The journey must have been tiring. I must say I was a little shocked that our healer Adelia had called up a few acquaintances to heal my mother. But I am told that you both are a formidable pair when it comes to healing people."

"Yes. I brew the potions and Hermione is rather good with the spells. We make a good team together."

"Well, my Mother is upstairs in her chambers. There will be a nurse with her who can help you know more about her ailment. I understand that you might be extremely tired after your journey, all the way from Italy. So one of the elves would show you both to your chambers. But, if I may ask, you do not sound Italian, I mean your accent is rather British?" He did not look like he was suspicious, merely curious.

"My Father was an Italian. He abandoned my Mother, who is British before I was born. Thus, I grew up moving around England and finally settling in the Italian countryside. Hermione is British. She is muggle born and an extremely talented witch."

"Ah. I see. Femmy! Take the Zabinis to their chamber, will you? And alert my Mother's nurse of their arrival."

An elf apparated right in front of them to escort them out.

The Estate was large, but it paled in comparison to the Manor. While the Manor had a display of family pride and artefacts all over it, the Fawley Estate had occasional such displays and only furniture and pieces that were ornately carved yet practical. This was the kind of large house that Hermione could still imagine living in. But the Manor? That made any human feel insignificant, her memories of the drawing room did not even need to be recalled.

Draco was feeling rather smug about how much luxurious the Malfoy Manor was, but even he had to grudgingly admit that the Flawey's Estate looked much more liveable. Hermione seemed to be looking around in awe and not the kind of scrutiny she usually had while she was at the Manor. He was aware that she was a terribly practical person and displays of wealth would not only not impress her, but would also put her off.

After a few turns, they finally reached a set of heavy doors, which the elf opened for them. Inside was a huge four poster bed with heavy drapes around it on the left-hand side. Tapestries with the Flawey crest hung from the wall. A fireplace was on the wall facing the door and a huge mirror and large tall windows overlooked the gardens on the right. The room was warm and sunny. A little too on the Hufflepuff side for Draco's taste, but it looked rather luxurious and nice.

The elf left them, closing the door behind him, after showing them around. It was weird to be in a bedroom with Malfoy. The most absurd bit was that it was their bedroom. Suddenly the large room started feeling a little too small with Malfoy standing beside her. The large windows and the garden outside reminded her of how they had put to use the glass wall in the Malfoy Library. Before she could think of ways to run away, there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in." Said Draco.

A mousy little girl of about fifteen walked in. She curtsied to both of them. "My Lord, My Lady. I have been sent by Lady Flawey for you My Lady. I am to attend to you personally throughout your stay here. The elves will provide assistance every now and then, but it is considered impolite not to extend the service of servants to the guests so I was sent. I could show you the garderobes or prepare a bath for you if you like."

"Could you give us a few minutes alone? I need some time with my wife. You could wait outside in the hall." Draco smiled politely.

As soon as the girl left, Draco turned to her and said, "Garderobes are where one goes to uh...relieve themselves. Chamber pots you must be familiar with but garderobes were for well, a heavier purpose. If you get the gist?"

Draco had either used Legilimency on her or him just really knew what piqued her mind. That was exactly what Hermione had been wondering about. But now that she knew, she was horror-struck that they had no actual lavatories or bathrooms! She looked at Draco with shocked eyes.

"It's not going to be that bad. Trust me. At least they have elves and servants."

"Elves that are enslaved." she said in an irritated tone.

"Elves that are happy to serve. And Hermione, this is the nineteenth century. You cannot walk around showing your belief in S.P.E.W. over here. It will endanger us. I know how you feel, but just don't be vocal about it?"

"Fine." She knew he was right.

"Now that we are finally alone.." Hermione whipped around at his words.

"...I can tell you about what I found. The earrings weren't there under the floorboards back at the cottage. I managed to bring along the necklace." he said pulling it out of his pocket. "The floorboard looked like someone had hurriedly taken out the earrings and left without bothering to fix the floor tidily. Someone in this era, not ours."

"Do you think it was Silvius and Adelia? We did not really find any time turner as such so it could be the jewellery that was charmed?"

"I was thinking the same. Keep this safe with you, will you? It would be rather odd if someone found it amongst my possessions. I have to make a quick trip to Gringott's. You can relax till then. I should be back before dinner." She held the necklace in her hands trying to not touch it directly with the velvet cloth around it.

"Why are you going to Gringott's? I hardly think we would be needing any money." She said while locking the piece of jewellery in a box and charming the box to become invisible in the bottom of her trunk.

"I need to check if the earrings are in the Malfoy vault."

"Are you insane? How are you planning to access the vault? You can't just barge in and say 'Hey am a Malfoy from the future!' They will either throw you into Azkaban or St. Mungo's. And then I will be stuck here alone!" She looked at him with a worried expression.

"Are you worried about me wifey?" Draco mocked.

"What? No! I just don't want to be stuck in this era with no proper toilets!" Hermione was being whiny and she knew it.

"Touche. Anyway, the Malfoy family vaults open only with proof of blood so even if I am from the future, I can access it. The only problem will be getting in, but I can pretend to be a distant French cousin of the Malfoi lineage and go in. They wouldn't stop me if the door opens on its own. Moreover, you did say I look like a Malfoy through and through with my blonde hair, pale skin and pointy face. But I should remind you that I have a rather handsome angular face and not a pointy one."

"No. It's pointy and weird. And terribly vain Mister Malfoy."

"Tsk tsk. Mister Zabini, if you please, Missus Zabini." He smiled as he waved her a goodbye and left the room.

A minute later, the little girl walked back in. "Lord Zabini told me you summoned me m'lady?"

"I did? Oh yeah! Can you prepare me a bath? I feel rather grimy. And yes, if you could tell me your name?" She smiled at the younger girl.

"I am Polly!" she chirped. "I shall get the man servants to get the tub ready at the earliest." With that, she bowed and left.

Hermione left the room to take a stroll around the Estate, but was soon called back into her chamber for her bath was ready. She took one glance at the wooden tub and she knew that it would be impossible for her to not embarrass herself in front of Polly if she allowed her to assist, as she knew was expected of her to do.

"That will be all Polly. Thank you. I shall call you if I need anything else."

"You don't need me to help you with your bath?" Polly looked a little surprised.

"No. I am rather shy, you see. So well, I shall manage on my own."

"You are, but a new bride." Polly giggled as she closed the door behind her.

Hermione mentally thanked Draco for the ruse he created of them being a newly married couple. It was serving as a great excuse for many silly things, as it turned out. She wondered if he had been successful at getting to his family vault.

Hermione closed the heavy curtains and slipped out of the chemise dress that she was wearing. With a flick of her wand, her shoes and clothes were tidily kept in a corner on the bed as she sank into the tub. The hot water soothing all her aching muscles, especially her sore feet. She put up her feet at the edge of the tub and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Draco could not believe his luck! They had actually believed he was a Malfoi and let him in. Unfortunately, the earrings were nowhere, but he did find what he had actually gone to look for. He patted his breast pocket one more time and smiled to himself as he apparated back to the gates of the Estate. Within moments, he was at the door of his bedchamber. He knocked twice but when there was no response and he found the door unlocked, he opened the door and walked in.

He was stunned would be an understatement. It was more like he was captivated, excited, mesmerised and heavily aroused by the sight ahead of him. He silently shut and locked the door behind him as he tried not to make any noise while he moved towards the figure in front of him.

He could see Hermione's naked back and shoulders, with her hair twisted up in a messy knot above her head that sat on her slender neck. She was submerged in a tub and must have drifted off while taking a bath. Her feet and arms were on the edge. As he inched in, he could see the red welts on the sole of her feet. Her skin looked so soft and so supple that he was sure if he sucked on it, it would turn a brilliant shade of red. The temptation was too much. Below all the oils and flowers that the maid might have added for Hermione's benefit, he could make out the silhouette of two perfectly round breasts and a soft flat stomach. He was itching to wake her by kissing her all over. He dared to not let his gaze go down to her most sacred place hidden under wet curls at the apex of her thighs, lest he lose control. But he allowed himself one peek and was surprised to find not a trace of any curl down there. It was as bare as the day she was born. He remembered that this wasn't the case the last time in the Library.

He sat down at the edge of the bed and took in her face. It looked so peaceful and her slightly open mouth made her lips look so pink and inviting. Draco's mind was getting clouded and all his blood was rushing south. He had to touch her. Now.

But he did not want to violate or anger her either. So he settled for her feet that he knew must have been aching and started massaging the soles. He was making lazy but firm circles when she started moaning and stirring. A few minutes later, her eyes shot open and she screamed, "Draco what are you doing here!" while frantically trying to find anything to cover herself with.

He was still in his lust filled daze but did not want to make her angry. So he turned and flung the wash cloth that the maidservant must have left for her, at Hermione. She immediately covered herself as much as possible as she thundered. "What on earth do you think you were doing Malfoy! Look away!" She started to wrap the washcloth around her as she emerged from the tub dripping wet. Draco had turned away, but could still see her through the large mirror that was now on his right.

"I thought your feet must be hurting and you looked really tired so Iw as just massaging them for you." he said honestly.

"You are a pervert Draco Malfoy! No gentleman would walk into a room without permission and then have the audacity to not only look at an unaware sleeping woman but also touch her without her permission!" She was enraged. He knew he had screwed up, but she looked so angelic and yet so sinful sleeping there in that tub.

"Unaware beautiful sleeping woman. And I really am sorry. I am. But tell me did you not enjoy my touch? And don't lie that it disgusts you because I have a very good memory of when my touch brought you to a bloody great orgasm."

"That was a mistake. We over crossed our boundaries as working professionals. We should never have done that."

"I was waiting for you to say that." He said looking her in the eye. Hermine could see something akin to hurt in his eyes. She almost instantly regretted her words. She was still angry at him for what he had done, but to call their past interlude was a mistake that had hurt him clearly.

She decided to call a truce. "See, Draco. We aren't actually married, and God knows till when will we be subjected to this era. I am not like those girls that throw themselves at you. My body is mine and I admit what you were doing made my feet feel a lot better, but it would have made me feel a lot better if you did it after asking me for permission. Granted I would think you have some crazy fetish and brush you off, but still. And what I meant to say was, that that night in the library, I had the best possible orgasm of my life. But let's not complicate our situation further and stick to our goal?"

"Best possible orgasm, huh?" Draco smirked at her through the mirror as he walked towards a very naked towel-wrapped Hermione. That bit had slipped out of her mind even before she realised she said the words. She was now blushing like crazy, exactly what she needed.

He came and stood behind her and she could feel his breath down her neck. His steely gaze never left her hazel one through the mirror. "I overstepped my boundaries, Hermione. I am sorry. I really am. But you looked beautiful like that and I lost any rational thoughts that I had."

"It's okay." she managed to squeak out. His proximity and her near nakedness weren't helping her form any coherent thoughts. She saw him pull out something from his pocket as his gaze became even more intense.

"Did you find the earrings?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"No. But I found what I actually went to look for. I got easy access thankfully." He took her left hand in his as she saw him lift a tiny open box in his right hand. The box was a covered in velvet that was dark green in colour. He pulled out a ring and slipped it on Hermione's ring finger on her left hand.

"A Malfoy bride or even a pseudo-Zabini bride cannot be without an engagement ring or a wedding ring." He whispered in her left ear which made her shiver. She felt his breath leave a trail from her ear to the centre of the back of her neck, where he gave her a light butterfly kiss as he dropped her hand. Then he looked at her and smiled as he fully bent down to give the same spot on the back of her neck a hot kiss with his lips open and gently sucking on it.

It felt like he was staking his claim, and for once, Hermione did not mind. Did not mind a single bit. "May I?" He asked as he turned her to face him and looked at her lips with wanton eyes. "Yes." She had barely finished the words before his lips crashed onto hers and his hands found their way into her unruly locks. He cupped her face and tugged at her hair as he pulled her in for an even deeper kiss. Their lips had never felt so full of sensation before. Hermione was sure that if they continued, his kisses alone would make her climax. He grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her into him so that they were now standing with her breasts crashing into his chest. The washcloth and the sensation of feeling Malfoy all over her made her moan. He used this as an opportunity to plunder her mouth with his tongue. His tongue and hers battled for dominance and in the end, Hermione gave up when she realised that his kiss and the way his tongue plunged in and out her mouth was simply, but a promise of what he wanted to do to her in other places. Eventually, when both of them were out of breath and panting, they pulled apart. Hermione almost wanted to cry at the loss of contact. Malfoy gave her a smile that made her feel like she was someone he was really proud of having. He bowed and took his leave, asking her to be ready in time for the dinner.

She was sure he had left her with a hickey on the back of her neck. There was no way she could see it with her own eyes, thus, neither could she put a glamour charm on it, thus.

She finally felt the weight of the Malfoy family heirloom set on her left hand. Never had she imagined herself to be in such a position where she would be donning a piece of Malfoy family history as a wedding ring on her finger. The ring looked like it belonged to the Victorian era. It had five emerald-cut emeralds set in yellow gold with beautiful and intricate carvings in the gold. It was simple and elegant, just how Hermione would have preferred it, yet it was ornated and detailed enough to look like it belonged to a Lady of the Malfoy Manor. The thought made her lost until she heard Polly knock at the door.

"This is for you m'lady." She handed Hermione a letter.

 _Mrs Draco,_

 _Hope you like the ring. I looked at it and it reminded me of you- classic, elegant and beautiful. I have asked Polly to help you put a glamour charm on the hickey that I have surely marked you with on your neck._

 _Sorry once again._

 _Your husband,_

 _Draco_

Hermione knew he had signed off as her husband to ward off any suspicion on them, but the way he had addressed her as Mrs Draco made her heart skip a beat. Writing Mrs Malfoy would have been a dead giveaway and Mrs Zabini sounded rather absurd even though that was the ruse they were using. He must have deliberately written Mrs Draco. She looked at the ring once again as Polly helped her get into another chemise dress for dinner. The ring was perfect. Probably not something she would ever think of, but had she seen it in a store, she would have definitely landed up picking this very ring. She smiled to herself at that thought.

"M'lady, should I use the glamour charm before I put up your hair? Master Zabini asked me to do so." Polly sounded like she was trying to control a flurry of giggles.

"Yes, be a dear and help me with it, will you? And find it amusing, don't you? We are newly married after all. You shall have your own share of it all when you get married." Hermione blushed and smiled at the girl fondly. Polly was a hard worker and rather chirpy and had already started to wear on Hermione. She somehow reminded her of Ginny when she was younger.

As she sat there while Polly did her hair, looking at the ring against the sheer fabric of her gown made her realise one thing. It was all just a ploy. They didn't even like each other back in their real lives, this was nothing but the pretence of matrimony and hormones that were catching up with the two of them. And the more the two of them kept themselves in check, the better it would be before they were too deep in it to retreat.


	14. Nightfall

Hermione couldn't help but relive the kiss they had shared. She knew it was the best if she didn't feed fuel to the fire that Malfoy was stirring but who could resist the sinful Draco Malfoy?  
She had picked up an emerald green dress for the occasion, subconsciously. She knew that in the Regency era, dinners meant that one had to dress up for the occasion.

Polly had informed her that they were to finally meet the entire Fawley family tonight, including the Fawley matriarch for whom they had been summoned.

Hermione was feeling rather nervous and she wondered where was Draco and what was he up to.

Once she was all dolled up to Polly's satisfaction, Hermione made her way to the dining hall accompanied by Polly. At the door of the hall, stood a dashing looking Draco. He wore a suit in blue that made his blonde hair and porcelain like skin stand out even more. But what was hard to miss were his eyes that seemed silvery in the light. He took in her appearance and extended his arm for her to hold onto.

As they entered, a man-servant announced their arrival. The Fawley's were already seated.  
At the head of the table sat the Matriarch, Hermione assumed, she recognised Hector Fawley on the left with his younger brother and his own daughter next to him. His wife, The Lady Fawley, sat opposite him next to the Head of the family on the other side. There were two seats reserved for them next to her. Draco guided her to their seats and they sat down after exchanging greetings.

Hector did a round of introductions and Hermione her assumptions about the family stood correct.

Even though the older Lady Fawley seemed like a stern person, she was actually a very warm and compassionate person, it seemed. If Hermione were to put it simply, she was like Professor McGonagall with a touch of Molly Weasley. She realised that she was already very fond of the Fawley Matriarch, Lady Fawley.

Polly had instructed that as Hector was the current Lord of the Estate, his wife was The Lady Fawley, while his mother was to be referred to as Lady Fawley. Hermione's head was reeling with all the tidbits that Polly had told her, but she was glad for the help.

As they awaited the first course and everyone was busy with conversations, Draco had slyly leant in and whispered, "Green really is your colour. It suits you. Now I just wish the silk sheets on our bed were as green as those that are there in my room, back home. They would suit you too." Hermione had gasped but thankfully no one was the wiser.

"Quite sure. It's just that I have finally decided that it's easier to make you blush and perplexed than to get a rise out of you by being mean and annoying. I guess you can handle the snarky Slytherin Prince but not you clearly don't know what to do with the charming one."  
Draco smirked.  
So it was his way of trying to embarrass her and entertain himself. She looked at him with eyes that were shooting a string of _Avadas_ at him.

After a merry meal with the family, the make-believe couple made its way to their chambers. As Hermione shut the door behind them, Draco put a quick _Colloportus_ on it. She gave him a weird look.

"I think we can transfigure the arm chair or the table into a small bed. What say?"

"What for?" Draco said while taking off his cufflinks. He had picked up a pair that was left behind by Silvius. He owned them in the future anyway, was his reason.

"To sleep." Hermione said as if Draco was a five-year-old who needed everything to be explained in detail.

"You can sleep on the bed with me. I don't bite. And I promise to keep my hands to myself if that's what you want." His expression looked like he was questioning not only her intent but even his own.

"No thank you. And who said anything about me sleeping on the smaller bed?"

"Granger you are the smaller one out of us, it's the sensible thing to do."

"But not the gentlemanly thing to do."

"I am not a gentleman. I do as I please and take what I want and when I want." He said as he moved towards her and at the end moment, instead of touching her as she had half hoped and half expected, he simply put his cufflinks and collar on the vanity and went back. He smiled to himself at her reaction.

Hermione warned, "Don't turn. I need to change."

"Okay and I think we should sleep together."

"What?!"

"You are one perverted female and then you will have the audacity to blame me, Hermione. I meant literally sleep together, because when in the morning, Polly or any other servant comes to wake us up, they wouldn't be happy to find a newly married couple, stationed in a single room to be sleeping in different beds. We aren't prince or princesses, just normal folks. It would look extremely suspicious and plain absurd."

Draco had a point, but she could not let this Slytherin slither into her bed!

"Fine. But you stay on your side and I stay on mine. Deal?"

"Anything for you, Wifey." He said while putting on his night shirt.

As they were finally in bed and settled under the covers, Draco turned towards Hermione and looked at her very intently. "You're staring." She chided. "I know. Just can't wrap my head around our circumstances. You are the only thing that I relate to in this era. Who thought this would be a day in our lives?"

Hermione smiled at him softly. She had taken a dreamless draught potion secretly that she had asked Polly to leave in the room for her. She did not want Draco to know about her nightmares. He did not want to fall asleep before her because he did not want her to witness his nightmares. He had planned to cast a _Silencio_ as soon as she would go fall asleep.

Both lay awake with their eyes closed. Aware of their heartbeats and the breathing of the other. Gradually Draco heard Hermione's breathing become lighter as she drifted off to sleep. He cast a silent _Silencio_ and went to sleep.

Hermione heard a zap as if someone had gotten electrocuted and woke up alarmed. She saw Draco nursing an injured right arm. She had cast a spell to hurt him if he had tried to cross over to her side, as a joke. He hadn't tried anything and she had completely forgotten about the spell.  
She saw from under sleep-laden eyes how he cursed a bit, fixed his arm and tried to fall asleep. She saw his calm form but the creases between his forehead that formed a deep frown unsettled her. She stayed up pretending to be asleep, long after he had gone off to sleep this time. That's when the nightmares began again. Hermione was herself half-asleep when she felt the mattress move slightly. She opened her eyes to see Draco mouthing some words and shaking his head frantically as if saying no to something desperately. She quietly removed her spell and realised that he had cast a _Silencing_ charm which she lifted with a _Finite Incantatem._

She held his hands in hers and tried to call out to him. "Draco! Draco listen to me! You are alright! Draco!" Hermione heard herself grow louder and sound more panicked with each syllable.  
Finally, she shoved him hard with which his eyes sprung open. He realised that Hermione was half leaning on top of him and was currently staring at him with a lot of worry and fear.

"Fuck. I didn't mean to wake you up. I am extremely sorry! I will go transfigure another bed."

More than embarrassed about being comforted by Hermione he looked more embarrassed about the fact that Hermione had seen him in this state in complete abandon.

"It's okay Draco. And I put up the spell between us as a joke and forgot about it. I am sorry too." She whispered softly as she moved to lie back in her place.

"It happens to me too, you know? To all of us who saw the War. It's normal." She confessed.

"I could borrow some of your Dreamless Draught the next time, in that case?"

"How do you know?" Hermione asked confused.

"I saw you sneak it up. And I used to be an addict. Everything was easier without my trials and all the lengthy discussions at the Wizengamot regarding the fate of my family. It was easier to forget it all and just lull into sleep." He was staring ahead at the ceiling.

Almost silently he made the next confession that made Hermione's heart ache for him.

"And sometimes I wanted to fall asleep forever."

Hermione barely heard that but as soon as she registered it, she had draped herself over Draco and was hugging him. Neither realised that they lay entwined in each other's arms.

"I just stopped because of my Mother. I couldn't give her another traumatic experience. She has seen enough of it for one lifetime."

"So have you." Hermione added. Her head lay on his chest and she could feel his breathing and his words reverberate through him as he spoke.

"I meant all that I said that night Draco." She said looking up at him. "I really think you didn't deserve to go through all that. You were a git to us back in school. And you were rather mean. But that doesn't make you a bad person! You might have done unspeakable things, but you did it for those whom you love. That doesn't make you an evil person. That just makes you human."  
She whispered to him.

"What do you call this, then?" She brought up his arm and rolled up the sleeve to reveal the sinister looking albeit faded Dark Mark.

"Scars from the War. Like we all have. I have my share. You have seen mine Draco. You saw me get them."

Suddenly he shifted and held her tightly against her. She felt him give a soft kiss to the top of her head. There was silence for a long time but half-asleep, Hermione heard a soft 'Sorry'. But in her heart she knew, she had already forgiven him for the past, even for all that she had endured in his drawing room.

The next morning, Polly knocked on the door and when she heard no noise, she knocked loudly and called out to the couple. Draco heard her and woke up to realise that Hermione was wrapped all over him. His face was surrounded by a mop of curls and he could feel her breathing against her chest. A strange warm feeling bubbled up in his chest. He did not want to wake her up and neither did he want to leave the bed.

"M'lord, m'lady, Lady Fawley and her nurse would be waiting for you in an hour's time before breakfast. I was sent to inform you." Polly knocked yet again. Draco sighed and carefully got Hermione off him as he made his way to the door. He unlocked it and was met with a flustered looking Polly. "We will be there. We will summon you when Hermione would need your help. Till then it would be wonderful if you can arrange for a bath for me perhaps?"  
Baths were a luxury that everyone did not have access to in this era, especially a prepared bath, so Draco thought it was best if he used this opportunity.

He looked at Hermione sleeping peacefully in their bed. It sounded so strange and so foreign to his ears; _their_ bed. He smiled at how strange his life had suddenly become. He made an effort to not wake her up and asked Polly to wake up Hermione and help her get ready, twenty minutes later when he left.

Hermione was up and ready and she could not believe how peacefully she had slept last night. The conversation that the two had mid-sleep almost seemed like a dream, a really sad dream marred by a war that was yet to happen. Hermione was feeling rather melancholic as she drifted towards the hall where Draco was to join them to go meet Lady Fawley and her nurse.

It had been almost half an hour that Draco and Hermione had been pouring over notes about Lady Fawley's health with Hermione occasionally asking questions. Draco was absolutely clueless, it just sounded like old age to him. After all feeling lethargic, frequently needing to relieve oneself and being irritable came with old age and not diseases, in his opinion. But, of course, he couldn't say it to any of them, not even Hermione who looked dead serious about her research.

"We would look through the notes and get back to you after breakfast. However, I would advise that you do not eat anything prepared with anything sweet or made with flour. Not even fruits."

"What do you suspect?" said the frail old lady.

"I am not sure so I would not like to give you any false ideas. I will let you know soon, My Lady." With that, they bowed and left.

"So?" Draco asked. "She has Diabetes. Type 2 to be precise if I am not wrong. We can't cure it Draco, but we can try to manage the symptoms." Hermione said as they made their way for breakfast.

"They did not figure this out already? Really? It took you what, an hour to know this?"

"We are from the modern times and am the daughter of two muggle dentists, who often come across patients who need alternate medications because of their condition. I just knew better. The role of Insulin in diabetes wasn't even known until 1910, which is yet to come at least a century later!"

"Then you should be glad that I know of a potion that can cure it."

"What? You can cure it?!" Hermione turned to face him.

"I was working on it. I am not sure about the curing part, but it definitely pushed back its onset a great deal. I just had to give it a final test before applying for a license."

"You do noble work. Just agree that you have redeemed yourself to all possible extents. You get the license and then make sure that the healing potions you make are sold at the least possible prices. If that isn't noble, then I do not know the meaning of the word Malfoy."

"There isn't a thing that you don't know Hermione Granger. Not a thing." He smiled fondly at the brunette that was walking ahead of him. He felt rather smug that Hermione had praised him. All her praises up until this point seemed like consolations, but this was a genuine one and he knew that she meant it.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello, everyone, this was more of a filler/fluff, but I felt it was necessary to re-establish the kind of things that still plagued the two of them after the War.**_

 _ **More plot in the next chapter! And rather exciting too. They would be visiting some place that they have both been to in the past (rather future in this case) and would unravel some more secrets! Can you guess which place?**_

 _ **And tomorrow is my birthday (Friday) so it's going to be a long weekend for me so probably updates would be few and far in between. So until then, enjoy!**_

 _ **Mili**_


	15. Excursions

"I am afraid we would need to go find some herbs for a possible potion that I can make. And we were wondering if we could have a look at books on the following subjects if you or any other person you know might have access to these?" Malfoy said handing out a list of books to Hector Fawley.

Hermione was currently pretending to make notes off books from the Fawley library. It had a fair amount of books, but it paled in comparison to the Malfoy Library or her favourite, the library at Hogwarts. She was honestly just rereading about things she already knew off or was trying to pick on some new knowledge. There was nothing in these books that could heal a diabetic. They had rather outrageous notions that diabetes meant that the sugar content in a person's body was going down so the person must be fed more starch and sugar, instead! They were killing people based on assumptions!

"Well, I am afraid that our library does not have these books, but I will send a word out to the Ministry and the other Aristocrats. They might have a few in their library."

The Lord Fawley then went away to write the necessary owls.

"What books Draco?"

"I wrote down a list of potions books that are there either with the Ministry or with us Malfoys. A few stray copies might be with a few other pureblood families, but all of them are there in the Malfoy Manor. And Malfoys don't lend books, but they do let you come have a look at them in their library." He had a glint in his eye and a devious smirk plastered on his face.

Hermione got up from the chaise that she was sitting on and stood in front of him now. Her smirk matched his. "So this is your ploy to get access to the Manor? Isn't it? How absolutely brilliant"

"Shhh...Lady Malfoy or someone would hear you." He smiled and moved towards his potions notes.

Him calling her that sent a shiver down her spine every time. She turned back to her own notes and started browsing through.

A few days passed unceremoniously with Hector Fawley managing to get the Ministry to owl a few books to them. All of which Draco was quick to dismiss the next day as they arrived, claiming that they did not hold any detailed information.

Hermione had wondered what if all the books had copies at the Ministry. Draco had quickly told her that there were a few books with the only known copy in the Malfoys' possession since centuries.

A week later, Lady Fawley was feeling much better and had started going for her daily walks in the gardens. She was rather fond of tending to her rose bushes which constantly reminded Draco of his Mother who loved to do the same.

One day, while in the chambers of the Fawley Matriarch, Hermione sat, simply reading some stories to the old lady. They both had a passion for reading, but with old age and a foggy vision, it was a strain for Nigella Fawley to read anything on her own. Hermione found it as a wonderful opportunity to do some reading for herself while fulfilling some wishes for the elderly dame.

She had just finished reading from the book, when suddenly the usually stern matriarch asked, "You are happy right? With your marriage that is?"

Hermione was taken aback. They had discussed many things, but anything domestic or personal was never touched upon. "Well, yes. I suppose. I am happy with dear Draco." She hoped she sounded convincing enough.

"You look happy, don't worry. Don't mind what I am going to say, but I think you don't give the young man enough credit dear girl. Take this from an old woman who has seen enough."

"I am sorry but I am actually confused as to what are you referring to."

"Well, he clearly takes care of you. I have seen it myself. He keeps an eye on you, a protective eye, not the jealous suspicious kind, when other men are around especially at the dinners we host. He often asks about your health and well-being to my nurse, if you have happened to say anything about being uncomfortable. He is extremely fond of you, in fact, he is smitten by you. That is quite obvious. And so are you, but you don't show it enough to him I suspect. Do you?" She gave Hermione a knowing smile.

"I do...uh...I guess. We are quite compatible. We just balance each other in the right way." She was shocked at her own admittance. She had thought about it in flashes but had always quickly dismissed her thoughts.

"That you do. We all know that, trust me. Even those that have met you both just once, would know that. But I am talking about appreciating the man's efforts and putting some of your own. I don't believe that only the woman should be giving in marriage. It should be the same for both man and wife. I was married to my beloved husband for so many years and showing appreciation for each other kept the love alive till the very end. It still burns the same, even after he passed, you know?" Her eyes were now moistened and Hermione's heart warmed at the sight. She gingerly placed a comforting hand on the Lady's. She wondered if she would ever feel love as strong and be telling stories of how she fell in love with her husband. In her real life, she was married to her work, as the people around her often pointed out. And she knew that would never change. She wondered if there was any man who would ever appreciate or simply accept her with all these mannerisms.

She had Harry and Ron who could 'deal with her bookishness'. But Ron being able to deal with it did not mean that he had necessarily accepted it. Yes, he accepted it as a part of her, but he did not necessarily accept it as something that would stick around for the rest of his life. He did not want a girlfriend or a wife who would research every single nuance before even attempting them. She couldn't blame him honestly, she knew it could get tiring to keep up with her, but she wanted someone who was willing to just try.

Later, that evening, she sat reading in her chambers when Draco burst through the door.

"Guess who got permission to visit the Malfoy Manor tomorrow!"

"Let me guess. Peeves?" She gave an amused smirk at how his excitement deflated at her remark.

"Killjoy." He mumbled.

"So tell me how does it feel to be able to go back home?" Hermione finally broke into a smile.

"It won't be my home until more than a century later. But it feels great like finally something that I know and can hold dear in this era, except you." He did not know where had that last bit come from. He looked away, flushed. Hermione noticed the red tips of his ears and felt her own cheeks take on a matching pink tinge.

Neither spoke of it again and an awkward silence took over which was starting to grate on Hermione's nerves. She could feel the heavy silence descend upon them like an unwanted cocoon. So she did the thing that came to her naturally. Asked a question.

"Draco, there was something that had been bothering me lately. Rather the lack of it has been bothering me actually."

"Hmm?"

"I am a muggle born living in the lap of luxury and even respected at the house of these great purebloods. Are the Fawley's just generally a tolerant family or are they dealing with me because they have no option for the sake of Lady Fawley?"

Draco then put down the book he was reading and looked at Hermione. She looked rather unsure. She looked as uncomfortable discussing this with him as he was with her because it was the reminder of a violent past based on these very prejudices. Draco's eyes softened.

"The prejudice, Hermione, was initially not based on one's origins of magic. The pureblood aristocracy was powerful because of the position in society they held irrespective of their magic. They were the closest thing to what you muggles have as nobles. These families are centuries old and they gain power with each addition. So it was the sensible thing to do that they marry their children to each other to gain access to the other's wealth, power and loyalty. Years, centuries of interbreeding, really."

Hermione was looking at him intently now.

"The Blacks, for example, are the most widespread family. Nymphadora Lupin was my cousin as you know, but Sirius is my Mother's cousin too. In fact, I am related to Potter on his father's side! It is not surprising for us to find long lost blood relations. But the thing is that all this power got into their heads. They started believing that they were entitled to all the wealth and power just because of their family name, their bloodline. And since, the family name passes through sons only, the power came to be associated with the surname and the sons they had."

Hermione grimaced at the ridiculous notion of patriarchy.

"And no Granger, I don't believe in all this. I know you disapprove, so do I. I believe that it's the mother's care and affection that make the children great and not the father's blood. I am who I am today because of my Mother. If I had anything to do with my father's blood, I would be a person I would loathe myself." he said with a foul taste in his mouth.

"This blood prejudice was a notion simply borne of the fact that no other wizards were as great and as powerful as those born into the pureblood families. Power attracts power. That sort of thing. Looking down upon muggle borns existed, but it was from a societal point of view. Gradually as the interbreeding increased and more and more squibs were born, the hatred the families felt for the bright and brilliant muggle born witches and wizards, much like yourself, increased. Unfortunately, my family, unlike the Fawley's already saw themselves above everybody else. They bought into the prejudice much before any of the other families."

"You still feel that way, don't you? That you are better than most if not all?" Hermione suddenly mused.

Draco almost took offence until he saw the amused look on her face. She was teasing him.  
"I do. But give me a reason why I should not? Am I not more skilled as a wizard and way more dashing than most? My people skills are equally good too." He grinned.

"I am not so sure about your people skills Malfoy. Unless by that, you are implying 'being a mean git to people' skills."

"So you agree with me about my skills as a wizard and my looks?" he teased in return and was met with a cushion that was hurled at him in jest.

They both started laughing. But Draco's face suddenly darkened as he looked at her. "What happened?"

"We can't tell anyone that you are muggle born while at the Manor, understood? They might not openly mistreat you in this era, but I don't think I can tolerate the disdainful looks and taunts they might throw your way."

She exclaimed, "But I am proud of who I am Draco."

"But you are not Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of our Age and Gryffindor Princess in here. You are a simpleton from Italy married to a pureblood. They will not like you one bit even if they don't hate you. My family has harboured their dislike of muggles since a long time. The other purebloods started feeling such scorn only after Grindelwald rose to power to establish Wizarding Supremacy. They then realised how muggles made life restricted for them and thus came to loathe everything that was associated with them. Including the witches and wizards with muggle origins. If there is animosity in this era, it became the disgusting hatred you have faced, later with the rise of Grindelwald."

Hermione knew what had happened back then. She had spoken to Aberforth plenty of times even after the war ended. The trio had often visited him, especially on Dumbledore's death anniversary each year. It was strange that none of those dates mattered anymore because those events were yet to occur! She often wondered if they would return to the present to see that a few weeks had passed where they were missing. Or if they would return to the exact moment of their departure; she was sure the flash of light they had seen had something to do with it. But she knew better than to mull over things that pained her by reminding of all those loved ones that she left behind.

They had been back to the cottage quite a few times on the pretext of looking for some special plants, but nothing of interest had turned up so far. She had even cast an undetectable spell that would alert them if anyone entered the cottage; a spell that she had mastered to protect their camping site while they were on the hunt for Horcruxes in the Forest of Dean.

The next day, both of them were ready at the Apparition point to go to the gates of the Malfoy Manor. Malfoy knew he would immediately be identified as a Malfoy at the Manor so he had transfigured his face to be a little rounded and turned his hair into a darker shade of blonde.  
He had also turned his eyes into a more believable shade of blue. To Hermione, he still looked like Draco more or less, minus the nuances, but to the Malfoy's he was just a tall blonde man with piercing blue eyes.

As they walked to the gates, they opened on their own and Draco held Hermione back. "What?"  
"The old magic in the Manor recognises me as a Malfoy even if am not even born yet. So, all gates and doors would open for me. We have to be careful of not being discovered."

She nodded and took a step back as she saw a carriage move towards them. The gates closed once again. The Malfoys had acres of land around the Manor, so it was expected that they pick their guests from the gates in a carriage. The couple patiently waited outside the place both of them held memories to; pretending as if this would be their first visit. While one's memories haunted her each night, the other's memories turned from happy fond ones into the nightmares he was more accustomed to now. Each tried to look as calm and collected as possible as the gates opened and the Thestral-drawn carriage halted in front of them. The magnificent black beasts that both could now see because of deaths and torture that were yet to happen but neither could unsee.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **I had free time on my hand until my birthday dinner so I thought might as well leave a cliffhanger for the next two days while I am at it.**_

 _ **Hope this explains a few plot points, including how blood prejudice grew as per my understanding of the Potterverse.**_

 _ **Favourites and reviews always welcome!**_

 _ **Also, for some reason, I can't see three reviews that are left for me. It says 25, I can only see 22. I have been told it happens from time to time, so if I was unable to reply to your review, I am extremely sorry. I will definitely get back to you as soon as I get to see the reviews.**_

 _ **Mili**_


	16. Manorism'

The white peacocks were beautiful, thought a wonderstruck Hermione as they rode towards the gates of the Manor. "Close your mouth dear. You don't want Nargles to rush in." Draco whispered into her eyes which made her giggle. His reference to Luna's favourite most mischievous magical creature brought on a sense of nostalgia. It washed over her with warmth. The strange need to feel accepted in the Manor had her on the edge.

"What if they know am not a half-blood?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"How will they? Only you and I know the truth over here. And I am sure Fawley's know the disdain that Malfoy's hold for all muggle born witches and wizards and would have omitted the details of your birth, thus."

"What if there's some spell?"

"You know it, don't you? Magic doesn't differentiate in blood. We have had this conversation before. Look here." He turned the brunette to face him. "You are a wonderful witch and they are nobody to either of us. For me, they are just my ancestors who now hang as scornful portraits in some storage area of the Manor. They are rather snarky and rude, but then you know how utterly charming and snarky I can get."

Hermione felt her stomach flip at the smirk he gave her and couldn't help but return it with a smile.

As they entered the familiar Manor, the change in atmosphere struck them. The Manor was beautiful in all its splendour. Magical sconces on the walls seemed to lend the hallways a warm glow with the sunlight that spread throughout from the large French windows.

The walls held beautiful and ornate frescoes and everywhere you saw art, rich untouched art. The Malfoy Manor was always opulent, but this was an art lover's paradise. Even Draco was left awestruck.

They were greeted by a butler and an elf, who enquired if they would be needing anything to eat or drink. Both politely declined and were shown to the library with a genteel but stern reminder that they were not to meddle with books that were restricted for the Malfoys only as tampering with the spells on them could bring some serious bodily harm upon them.

The duo quickly got to work and checked if there was anything related to Silvius that they could find in the library. While Hermione kept an eye, Draco had moved into the place where they kept all the Malfoy secrets in the alcove. Hermione couldn't get over the initial shock of the alcove and its contents. Draco had even teased her that he might have to _obliviate_ her if she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact and get over it herself.

Meanwhile, Hermione located one of the books off Draco's list and started pretending to study it while Draco rummaged through the alcove. She was careful to make some notes to pretend as if she had been busy while she was actually looking out for anyone who might appear in the library unannounced.

A disappointed Draco moved out and shut the alcove. "Nothing. No memories of him, no diary, nothing! Almost as if he never existed." He groaned in frustration.

"Draco this is just a theory, but is it possible that he travelled in time and it got botched and somehow he does not exist now?"

"It could be a possibility save for the fact that we arrived at the hut where Adelia was banished for falling in love with my Great grand uncle. Which wouldn't happen if they didn't exist, plus, he is mentioned in my Great Grandfather, Septimus's diary from last year." He looked at Hermione who seemed to look annoyed that she had missed the obvious fact.

"You can't always be the smart one Hermione. Relax." He cooed.

"Whoa, you actually made notes?" he said while picking up the parchment. "Someone has to keep up the ruse."

"You would have made an excellent Slytherin, you know?" 

"Am a happy Gryffindor, Malfoy."  
He smirked and chastised, "Zabini, your dear husband, not Malfoy."

"The library clearly holds nothing of worth to us. We can check the restricted books, though."

"No. The Manor is full of dark magic and artefacts and we don't want to trigger something beyond any of our capacity Hermione. God only knows what could happen. Those books dwell in dark and blood magic and were brought here from across the world. There are books on _Tantrik Vidya_ from India, _Vodou_ from Haiti, _Pagan, Wiccan_ and _Hermetic_ magical practices. Merlin knows that if we get them out, things can only go horribly wrong. The Ministry seized most of the books, but the most sinister of the lot that was hidden through the ages got seized after the War when the Ministry checked the Manor for any lingering Death Eaters and dark magic before they let me or my Mother settle back in."

Hermione was taken aback at his outburst but he seemed really hell bent on staying away from dark magic. Hermione obviously would never practise any of it, but there was no harm in reading or knowing of it. She ransacked her brains for any other ideas while Draco made a few faux notes of his own. 

"We need to at least look around!"

"We will, but we can't do everything in a day, can we? Plus, we don't want to overstay our welcome. We will be back tomorrow. Don't worry."

The duo took their leave while thanking the butler for his cooperation and help. Right before they apparated back to the Estate, Draco asked, "You mind if we make a small detour to Diagon Alley?" Hermione opened her mouth to ask why, but then decided against it. She was too exhausted to get into a war of words with him. She silently nodded as she held his arm for a side-along apparition.

Diagon Alley had not changed much in appearance over the years, yet it was centuries apart, one could tell. Gringott's sat exactly where it was although it looked older only by a century or two. Ollivander's further down the line looked as ancient as it did in the present. The only other building that Hermione recognised was the Leaky Cauldron. There was no Flourish and Blott's, no Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour and definitely no Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She suddenly felt the burden that this was no vacation, they were truly alone in this strange world.

As Hermione followed Draco, she realised they were moving towards Horizon Alley. "Draco, where are we going? We have almost crossed Diagon Alley completely. Are we headed towards the Carkitt Market?"

"No. Knockturn Alley." Draco murmured as he took her hand and pulled her along with him. As they entered the ominous lane, Hermione's insides chilled. If Knockturn Alley was shady in the future, it was downright notorious and scary in this era. She held on to Draco tighter who stopped in front of a shop that had its door shut. The worn out paint on the wall above the door said, Moribund's in faded letters.  
Centuries later Harry would try to enter this store when he would land up at Knockturn Alley by mistake. The door was locked as it would be then, but there was a light that was shining through, meaning that there was someone inside. Draco discreetly pulled off the transfiguration spells on him and looked like the true Malfoy that he was.

"Monsieur?" He called out in his best French accent.

The ratty doorknob suddenly started glowing. Draco quickly took his wand and sliced up his finger a little and pressed it onto the knob. Hermione gasped at the blood that was now oozing onto the knob when she heard a metallic click. The door swung open slightly.  
Hermione had a million questions in her mind, but Draco's grave expression told her that it was best she does not ask for any explanation right now.

The room was dark with strange shapes and objects all around them. It looked like a run down version of Borgin and Burkes.  
The two walked in hand in hand, wary of even the slightest of movements, wands ready.

"Entrez Monsieur. Comment puis-je vous aider aujourd'hui?"

Hermione knew very basic French having spent a summer there on a vacation as a child. But her knowledge was rather limited and rusty. Even the brilliant Hermione Granger would take more than a vacation to learn a new language.  
She listened to the two men and occasionally caught a few words in between. On the whole, none of them seemed to make any sense neither were they in the same context. She even briefly wondered if it was simply Draco's ploy to irritate her.

The old frail man that had greeted them, Hermione suspected he was Moribund himself, soon turned around and disappeared into a room in the back of the store. A while later he returned with a package the size of a small box and gave it to Draco. He took the package and put ten galleons on the counter. Hermione's eyebrows shot up at the amount as she looked at him.

"Merci beaucoup Monsieur Moribund."

Draco held her hand and pulled her out. They apparated away to the Estate the moment they stepped out of the strange shop. Draco with a package that he had hidden well within his robes and Hermione with now a trillion questions hounding her.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Thank you for your birthday wishes! And here is a short but super important chapter. There will be plenty of action for them at the Manor, so don't worry.**_

 _ **I am glad that this story means so much to the bunch of you. Thank you for making it so special for me!**_

 _ **Also, I wanted to mention that all the places and shops that I have mentioned in the chapter exist in the Potterverse. In fact, The Leaky Cauldron is believed to be the oldest standing shop in Diagon Alley, thus it has the entry to it. It's believed that Gringotts' was made and then the other shops grew around it. However, it is also a possibility that Ollivander is possibly the oldest since it has been here since the fourth century or even before!**_

 _ **Anyway, stay tuned for more!**_

 _ **Review and vote!**_

 _ **Mili**_

 _ **P.S. I still cannot see the reviews that were missing and now even a few new ones have vanished! But on the other hand a huge shout out to all my lovely reviewers! Especially the guest user who left a super long review about how they read it all in one go without realising it's a 'In-progress' story. I loved it! Also, next time if you can leave a name/alias, I can give you a proper thank you!**_ __


	17. The Package

He clearly did not wish to be discussing the contents of the package and even before she could pester him about it, they were summoned by Lady Fawley.

"I know you both are extremely busy, but I feel awful that you have been working so terribly hard on my account. You have also taken over the healing of the village folk in a few cases! So you must be thanked well enough. I have told Hector that we must host a dance in your honour."

The old lady gave the couple a kind smile as she sat tall and proud in her chaise once again. Her condition was better now that Draco was gradually administering the potion that he had created, combined with Hermione's knowledge of what should be the ideal diet for her. Balls were rare occasions in the modern world, and thus held, even more charm for the attendees. Both knew that a ball would serve as a distraction, but neither wanted to dishearten the aged dame. So, they beamed at her instead, meaning to show their thankfulness and excitement at the prospect.

"The ball will be on the day after tomorrow. Dress robes will be sent over for the two of you. The seamstress might like to look at your measurements once more dear Hermione. Consider all this a token of my deep gratitude for the two of you."

Hermione was really humbled but she just could not take all this! To top it all, the guilt of actually trying to figure out a way to return to the present and not working on the cure washed over them.

"My Lady, we are already honoured! This would be too much! I am sure I can arrange for appropriate clothes for the two of us by then." Draco assured.  
"Precisely. Lord Fawley has compensated us enough that we can not only afford it all, but also afford other luxuries that we couldn't have before! We are already deep in your family's gratitude for us."

"I thought my life was over, but you gave me a second life. This is the least I could do! So listen to this old lady you both. These are my orders, not a request and you can't deny my request while on Fawley grounds." the older Lady Fawley admonished fondly.

They two reluctantly agreed. Draco left while Hermione was to go see the seamstress.

"Lady Zabini." The seamstress bowed. She hurriedly measured Hermione up and down. Hermione felt like a ragdoll but obviously, couldn't say that to her.

"What colour would you like your dress to be? Might I suggest a dark colour? It's highly in fashion for a new bride to wear deep hues."

A flash of smoky silver eyes crossed her mind and she recalled the conversation the old Lady Fawley had had with Hermione in the past. How she did not appreciate her husband's efforts. She decided maybe this was the perfect time to show her efforts to him as she picked the colour of her dress.

Dinner was humdrum with talks of the upcoming ball.

Once back in the confines of their bedroom, Hermione decided to start showing her appreciation for him by thanking him.

"Draco I was meaning to say this for the past few days."

He looked up from the potion ingredients that lay on the table. With Adelia missing, they would brew the potions secretly in their room and work on them at night. Hermione or Draco would then carefully pass them on to Lydia so that she could pretend that she got them from Adelia in the Marshlands.

"What Hermione? Is something troubling you?"

"Quite the opposite on the contrary. I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for understanding my need for the Dreamless Draught and yet trying to help me out of it. The other potion you gave me really worked, yet I don't feel compelled to take it every night. I have been sleeping peacefully each night without any nightmares. Have even seen a pleasant dream or two." Hermione couldn't help but smile. She really was impressed with whatever potion he had made for her. It did not have the dependency of the Dreamless Draught potion, yet was exceptionally good at putting Hermione to sleep. They had not woken up tangled in each other's arms after that fateful night but were now comfortable enough to not need a huge space between them.

Draco looked conflicted. Certainly not the reaction that Hermione was expecting. He should have either been too smug and made a haughty comment or simply appreciate her effort and say thank you. But when had anyone ever been able to decipher Draco Abraxas Malfoy?

"I am glad you have been sleeping peacefully, Hermione. But it has nothing to do with my potion, really."  
"What do you mean? Of course, it has everything to do with the potion, silly!" His sudden humbleness had surprised Hermione.

"No really. What I gave you was a few petals of Azalea, with the crushed roots of some Acacia Blossoms and a little of Turm oil."

"I have literally never heard of these ingredients being used in potions before!"

"That's because they aren't. They have no magical properties."  
Draco now looked at her with a guilty expression while Hermione was baffled.  
"The potion I gave you was basically Gurdyroot infusion transfigured to be a turquoise-green in colour. I added the other ingredients to simply change the taste."

"So it wasn't a potion, but a less disgusting version of the Lovegood's favourite drink?"  
Hermione was appalled. How dare he fool her! How dare he give her a false potion!

"What makes you think that you can fool people Draco Malfoy! How dare you!" Hermione said in a quiet but extremely angry tone.

"Granger, calm down. It worked, didn't it? You just told me how it has helped you! And you should understand it better, I used the _Placebo effect._ "

She was the muggle. She knew about it, of course, she did! She just couldn't believe that Draco actually understood and used muggle medical methods too! But she still felt betrayed and fooled. She was stunned that a disgusting drink had made her feel that secure in her mind that her nightmares had stopped on their own.

"I have been trying to find potions that heal the mind. One can heal the body, but how does one heal the mind of the scarred? I have been studying the mind in great detail with books by muggle mind healers. Psychology and psychiatry if you please."

Hermione was too stunned and stirred. "Thank you." she landed up saying with a slight smile as she got back to powdering the moonstone for the Draught of Peace that they were preparing tonight. Draco Malfoy's mind was a strange place, she mused.

The next day they were back at the Manor and left in peace when at around noon, Draco sat down beside Hermione and placed the package that he had bought from Knockturn Alley next to her.  
"If you have bought me any jewellery from there, then you can forget it. I am not even touching the box."

Draco laughed. "Open it. It's not for you silly witch. It's for us. And it's not charmed. I checked. Promise." She looked at him with a suspicious look he knew has fake as she removed the uninteresting wrapping from the box. Inside were two little crystal bottles with a muddy liquid in both of them. The crystal bottles were beautiful with opulent and gilded designs on each.

"Polyjuice potion?" Hermione gasped.

"We cannot be searching the Manor as ourselves, now can we?" The true nature of the Slytherin Prince shone with brilliance in that moment. "But, how did you get them!?"

"I just used the Malfoi card again. I know that Moribund is a French man. He came here after his English lover. He married her and settled here and opened that store. His equally shady and prejudiced grandson runs the store in present day Knockturn Alley. They only serve purebloods, and being a French is just brownie points with them."

"But who are we planning to impersonate?" asked a perplexed Hermione.

"Remember I went to the loo yesterday? I caught hold of a maid. You can say I seduced her a little and while we kissed, I nipped a few hair off her head with a pair of shears."

Jealousy flared up within Hermione. "You kissed a maid?" The words flew out of her mouth before she realised. The only relief was the fact that her envy did not shine through. Draco put down the box that he was holding and looked at her intently before breaking into his signature smirk. "Envious, are we? You don't need to be. You were the best snog of my life dear wife."

Hermione knew there was no going back so she might as well dive into it headfirst. "So, I was the best snog of your life, eh?" Her left eyebrow shot up.

"The maid was just a chaste kiss and snog sessions at Hogwarts don't really count. As for the rest, all such kisses have always ended in my bed or some place more interesting usually, much more than just a snog. You were the only snog that didn't end up there."

Hermione looked a little hurt at the implication.

"You were the best snog Hermione. Including the snogs that ended up in my bed and otherwise." He looked dead serious and she blushed and looked away. She tried very hard to control her heart rate that had suddenly spiked up by deep breathing, but nothing seemed to be working. She needed a distraction.

"I go as the maid, who would you go as?"

Draco loved to see her blush like that. He loved to see the effect he had on her, but he knew that deep down he wanted to do a lot more than just make her blush. He wanted her writhing below him begging and pleading for more of him. He would oblige, obviously. Draco tried to stop his straying chain of thought and tried to remember what she had asked. He could not shake off the image of her under him, all flushed.

"A butler, of course."

"Did you kiss him too?" She teased.

"Nope. Just stunned and obliviated." he winked and Hermione was sure her heart fluttered. What was happening to her!

Draco pulled out two small paper envelopes, each tidily labelled with the names 'Clio' and 'Gerrard'. He handed the one labelled 'Clio' to Hermione with a bottle of Polyjuice potion and asked her to add the hair to it.

As soon as Hermione added 'Clio's' hair to it, the potion bubbled and turned a shade of yellow, almost as if it was sunshine personified. She briefly wondered how would Polyjuice look like if one was to try and duplicate her. Draco stood beside her and added the butler, Gerrard's hair to his potion, which took a warm brown tone.

"We shall drink them after lunch, once we manage to capture the two when they come to serve us food." He said pocketing his potion.

"How do you know that they will be the ones here?" Hermione asked while storing hers carefully.

"Because I might have suggested for the maid to come visit me and put a charm on the butler to do so?"

"You put an _Imperius_ on him!?" Hermione shrieked.

"What? NO! I just used legilimency on him and planted the thought in his head. That's it."

"Oh. Sorry."

Hermione looked away guiltily. "I was a Death Eater Granger, I know. But give me a chance, will you? I am not exactly jumping at every opportunity to use dark magic!" He seethed.

"I really am sorry Draco."

"Of course you are but please let's not discuss this anymore. All that constantly reminds me is of the horrible things I did. So thanks for that and don't apologise for fuck's sake. It does not help."

He turned and moved away. As if being near her burnt him. She knew she had crossed the limit by accusing him of using an Unforgivable. Hermione decided she would make it up to him soon. She had no idea how, but she would.

Lunch hour rolled in and as expected, Gerrard and Clio walked in with their food. As soon as they started to set the lunch table, Draco and Hermione shot silent _Petrificus Totalus_ at them. They froze in mid-action and Draco started looking through their mind for any details they might need, like the location of Silvius' room and the tapestry's location.

Next, they made the duo sit on chairs, with their back to the door. Hermione quickly switched her clothes with Clio while Draco switched his with Gerrard.

They transfigured their hair and built slightly so to anyone who appeared at the door, they appeared to be Draco and Hermione deep in their research.

Before leaving, Hermione cast her field protection charm that would tell her if anyone tried to enter the library or if either of their hostages managed to break free. They took their wands with themselves and left.

"No matter what, stick together. In case you get into trouble run for your life. Run towards the kitchens or any secluded area and summon an elf. Show them your ring and say you are married to a Malfoi, and tell them you need help, they can apparate you away."

Hermione silently nodded as they made their way towards the Drawing room where Draco knew the Tapestry hung above the grand fireplace. He did not like the idea of Hermione being there, but they had no other option.

"I am sorry but we must do this, together." Draco whispered as he opened the door to the drawing room through the butlery.  
She knew that she had to put her fears behind if she ever wanted to see the faces of her friends and family back in the modern era. The two walked in with dusters in their hands. If anyone questioned them, they could say that they were cleaning.

Up above the fireplace, they saw the ornate and huge silk tapestry with the Malfoy family tree on it. There were no mentions of Lucius or Draco on the tree. The tree did not even have any mention of Draco's grandfather Abraxas, meaning that he was yet to be born.

The traced the tree down to Brutus Malfoy and saw that it just went down to Septimus. There was no mention of Silvius anywhere except for the blank space they had seen back in the present. No Adelia, no child, no Silvius. They knew they had to make their move quickly, so they checked the tapestry for any charms on it and when they found none, they left.

Draco offered her his hand and she took it gladly as he took her and slipped behind a portrait. "Where are we Draco?"  
"Somewhere where no one will ever find or look for us, come let's go. These walls have secret passages through them that open behind different portraits. I doubt anyone has used them in centuries. I found out about them as a child. Only my Mother and the elves knew about it. Even my Father knew nothing about them. They were probably used to transport things and for the servants back in the day. Probably fell into disuse as more and more elves were employed and they can apparate anywhere, so now they do all the moving around."  
They kept moving ahead in the bleak light of the _lumos_ that Draco's wand was casting.

After passing through long tunnels and a few turns, Draco finally pushed open a portrait and stepped into a lit hallway that Hermione instantly recognised as the one where Draco had his bedroom in the present day. They quietly made their way to a room where the doors seemed locked. Draco quietly cast an _Alohomora_ and when it didn't work he tried to think of other ways to open the door.

"Like that would work." Hermione moved him aside and cast an _Aberto_ with a flick of her wrist. They heard a click but the door had still not completely unlocked. She cast a _Dunamis_ but to no avail. She was beginning to give up when suddenly it struck Draco that they might have unlocked the door, but that did not mean she had unbound the lock. With that, he gave an excited try with a quick _Emancipare_ and the door swung open.

They had done it! They broke into the room and shut the door. Hermione quickly cast an Anti Unlocking Charm on the door with a _Colloportus_.

They rummaged through the room silently and found nothing out of the ordinary. No diary and definitely no suspicious notes. Hermione was going through his clothes when suddenly she slipped on a stray tie. She flayed her hands to grab onto the first thing that she could reach to break her fall. Her hands grabbed something that felt like a tiny shelf built into the wall and she managed to pull herself up. She had not noticed the shelf before at all. It seemed rather strange and secretive. Yet it was empty.

"Draco?" She called.

"Come have a look at this. You think he could have kept something over here?"

Draco moved into the cramped space behind the clothes that hung in the dressing room and tried to look at the shelf. He placed his hand to feel it for any other trap doors or shelves when suddenly a box started appearing in the shelf. A familiar box in fact.

When he pulled it out and opened it, Hermione visibly blanched next to him.

"It is the box and those earrings!"

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello everyone, hope you all are liking the plotlines and don't think the characters are too OOC? If yes, then you can always write back to me.**_

 _ **Also, I try to keep the information as close as possible to the Potterverse so all the spells mentioned in this chapter are added after research. Although, ***_ _ **hint hint**_ _ ***, there is something that I have created in this chapter. Almost how the great JK Rowling herself leaves clues and hidden meanings that continue to baffle us till date.**_

 _ **Let's see if any of you can pick on the clue and decipher it :D**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Mili**_

 _ **P.S. mega700210 thanks for your wish and the review! I can't leave you a personal message so here it is. And for those that I haven't replied back to, I still cannot see the missing reviews so I am really sorry for that.**_


	18. Concurrence

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **Heyo!**_

 _ **Did any of you manage to find out what secret message I left in the last chapter?  
I will drop a hint, 'Flowers have a language of their own.'**_

 _ **Anyway, this story is almost drawing to an end. A few chapters more. I had never planned to go beyond 20k words, but they just flowed somehow!**_

 _ **Hope you like this chapter and warning for some hot snogging in this chapter!  
**_ _ **Not for innocent eyes!**_

 _ **You can skip it if you want. No major plot twist in there. ;)**_

 _ **Love,  
Mili**_

Hermione's hands shook as she held the green round box in her hands. It had a band of platinum on it where the lid met the box. A single large oval diamond, set in gold, dominated the band right in the centre. Right below the diamond, the Malfoy crest was embossed in silver, below which were the words that Hermione had read out earlier when they had first come across the box.

 _'Nos tempus est huius'_

The last time she had whispered those words, the next thing they knew was that flash of light had surprised them and then they found themselves stuck in this era. "Draco, what if by whispering the words on this box, I set off some spell to get us stuck in this era?"

"It could be a possibility." Draco looked at the box and the words with a gaze so intense it felt as if he was trying to find the answers simply by staring too hard.

"Do you think we could try doing it again?"

Hermione's words were falling on deaf ears. Draco seemed to be lost in a world of his own.

"Let's head back." He simply said. Hermione wanted to tell him that they could read the spell and try it again, but Draco was already at the door waiting for her.

"It's best we get back to the Estate before we try anything. We have no idea if we will land up going further back in time!"

That idea totally scared Hermione witless. She had shrunk the box and put it in her pocket. They reached the library without any incident luckily. They two captives of theirs seemed to be dozing. They had probably given up trying to struggle.  
Hermione took out her wand and quickly cast a Silencing charm just in case they tried to create any ruckus once they woke up.

Draco had just turned to take off his shirt, when the butler, Gerrard pounced towards Hermione.  
The sudden noise caught Draco's attention and he whipped around to see Gerrard holding Hermione against him and poking her neck with her own wand.

"Answer my questions and I shall let you go." The man growled from behind Hermione.  
Draco jumped towards the still sleeping girl, but the older man was smart. He nearly stabbed Hermione with the wand which made her yelp out in pain. "Don't even think about it. She means nothing to me except for another maid who works with me at the Manor, but I know this is your wife, or at least means a lot to you and I won't hesitate in harming her."

The young Malfoy did not doubt Hermione's ability to save herself from the man, but he could not risk it still. So he put down his wand and moved his hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine."

"Why are you here?"

"We are healers, but we are poor. We don't earn enough to live a life as lavish as we would like. My wife, Hermione, is with child and we did not wish to bring up our child in such penurious conditions, so we thought if we could nick something off the Malfoys and Fawleys, they would barely notice, but we would lead a comfortable life there on." Draco wove a story and improvised as he went.

Hermione knew he was up to something. He was stalling, bidding time. He was probably trying to distract the butler with this story. She did feel his grip on her relax a little after Draco declared that she was pregnant.

"We really are sorry. But, this had to be done for our child's sake. I did not want to fail my child as a Father even before it came into the world. Please don't hand us over. Please! We promise to never steal or be anywhere near the Malfoy Manor ever again!"

"Yes, we promise! We just wanted to give the comforts to our child that we ourselves could never have. Just a roof over our heads and food in our belly. But, we promise never to show our faces ever again. Just don't tell anyone. Please!" Hermione hoped she sounded half as convincing as Draco had.

"What did you steal?" the butler asked in an unimpressed tone.

"Nothing. We could find nothing except paintings and artefacts that we would not know where to sell without getting caught. All doors were locked and we had originally hoped to simply steal some jewellery or expensive clothes."

Gerrard suddenly started to breathe heavily, as if he was trying to relax. Just as he closed his eyes for more than a second, Draco picked his wand and shot a stunner at him. His arms dropped and Hermione quickly retrieved her wand from him and moved away.

He dropped to the floor with a look of shock plastered.

"He is a thief. He has stolen from my family for years. That's why instead of turning us in, he wanted to know what all we managed to steal. I realised this yesterday when I was trying to plant the idea of serving us today."

Draco and Hermione dragged the girl and the two quickly put on their original clothes again. They removed the transfiguration spells that they had done to the two of them so that they resemble Draco and Hermione. The girl was now stirring, Draco quickly moved in front of her and cast a _False Memory Charm.  
_

"What did you do?" Hermione asked looking scared and confused. It reminded her of how she had done the same to her parent for their safety before the War. It reminded her of how after the War, she was almost unable to undo it and what damage it had cost.  
"Don't worry Hermione. It's just a small memory modification. Nothing else. I just made her see Gerrard steal this." He said taking out a pocket watch set in gold, from within his robes.

"Where did that come from?"

"I picked it up from Silvius's room. It belongs to me in the future, you know?"

Draco cast a similar memory charm on the stunned butler who was now made to believe that he was caught stealing the watch and had to chase down the girl to prevent her from telling anyone. 

Clio was now coming back to her senses and Hermione knew what she had to do. She rushed to the girl's side and with genuine concern, asked, "Are you alright, dear?"

"What happened? Why am I here?"

"That bastard hit you with a stunner when he chased you down. But, he forgot we are in the library. We saw the commotion from the other end and Hermione hit him with a stunner of her own. We must tell the Malfoys of your bravery and loyalty!"

The young girl blushed at the words and Hermione felt her heart fill up with a dark emotion that was starting to feel a lot like envy. Draco looked at Hermione and raised his eyebrow as if questioning her about her sudden change of mood.

Instead, Hermione summoned and elf to go call the head Butler who had received them on the first day. As the old man appeared in the library, they let Clio dictate the incident. "You must ask the Lord and Lady Malfoy to reward her loyalty!" Hermione added a little too sweetly, Draco chuckled beside her, which earned him a glare from her.

"Oh, but I would. I surely would!" The old man said in a fatherly fashion while looking at the young girl proudly. "My apologies that you had to face all this, Lord and Lady Zabini. My sincere apologies." "Ah. It's alright. We are glad we could help get rid of a snide human such as Gerrard here."

"My Lord and Lady Malfoy would have been pleasantly surprised to meet you, unfortunately, they are not in England right now."

"No no that's fine." With that, the duo took his leave after some more polite conversation.

Back at the Estate, the two sat in the matching armchairs that were there in their bedchambers. They sat staring at the box kept on the table before them. "Do you think you want to try it now?"

"I think not. It would be rather absurd if we landed up in the Fawley Estate back in the present times. Plus who knows if it would work anywhere except in the cottage?"

Hermione pondered over it and finally concluded, "And honestly, I don't want to break Lady Fawley's heart. She is throwing the ball in our honour and we must go. We could say our goodbyes after that and leave."

"Without making anyone suspicious?"

"Without making anyone suspicious." Hermione concurred.

The next morrow came and Draco knew today was the day of the ball and the day when he would get to know if his potions had been working on the old matron or not.

He woke up to find Hermione gone in the morning. He slipped out of bed and started to get ready to go check up on their patient for probably one last time. He had grown fond of the strict matriarch over time. And it was absolutely wonderful how she would often scold Hermione and take Draco's side when Hermione was acting stubborn. He smiled to himself as he made his way down the halls.

Hermione was with Polly, trying to figure out a way make her hair look manageable for the ball for that night. Lady Fawley, both the older one and the Lady of the Estate had strictly ordered her to only concentrate on the ball today. Hermione had tried to argue, but they refused to listen to her and simply ended the discussion by stating that she needed to spend more time on herself and definitely more on Draco.

It was rather weird and uncomfortable for Draco to admit that he was an unease simply because he had not seen Hermione much except for during meals that day. He was now getting ready for the ball, and Polly had forced him out of the room because Hermione had ordered it. He had seen her with the largest possible front teeth and an untamed bush in place of hair back at Hogwarts. He was sure it couldn't get any worse that she was trying to shy away from him now. He was in a rather grumpy mood. He was used to having his own way, but that almost never happened with Hermione Jean Granger.

The young Gryffindor was nervous. Tonight was the night when they would try the spell once the ball ended. She didn't know here she would spend the next day. It was really scary. She had roughly translated the phrase on the box, but it barely sounded like a spell and more like a campaign motto to her, ' _Our time is this_ '. But it made absolutely no sense to her.

Hermione looked at Polly giving her hair the final touches through the reflection in the silver backed mirror in their room. She ran her hands over the creases on her dress to smoothen them. "You really want to surprise him, don't you m'lady?" "Yes." Hermione simply accepted, both to Polly and to herself.

The least she could do was show her acceptance towards him.

It was almost time for them to leave for the ball and Draco was standing outside his own room and waiting. He was annoyed would have been an understatement. He was almost about to walk off on his own when suddenly out popped Polly's head and she said, "M'lord, m'lady is ready and waiting for you." with a mischievous smile on her face, she ran away.

Draco hesitated for a second and then remembered that it was high time he was let back into his own damn room and burst open the door. What he found inside was not Hermione Granger, but a ravishing vision in green. She stood next to the bed, half trying to look pleased with herself and yet as nervous as a coy bride. "I know I have been nasty to you on occasion so this is me trying to make amends and trying to apologise. The least I could do was show off your Slytherin and secret Malfoy pride by wearing this dress today." She smiled.

Draco had shut the door and covered the distance between them in a matter of seconds. It was not the fact that Hermione looked beautiful. He knew she did. That she did every day in her own way without even trying. But today? Today she was breathtaking, the kind where when she would walk into any room, men would look at her and wish she was theirs and women would look on in envy. But that wasn't what had Malfoy crazed up. Malfoy saw all that, he was but human. But what he also saw was a Malfoy, a true Malfoy bride in her today. He did not know where all these feelings were bubbling up from but they were there in his heart which was about to burst at the seams with the sudden knowledge of his feelings for her.

Before Hermione could react, Draco had pinned her against a bed post and his lips crashed onto hers. He wrapped his hands around her small frame and held her close while she slipped her arms around his neck to pull him in even closer. There lips moved in sync and Draco could feel himself losing any amount of sanity. All he wanted to do was rip off the very dress that had him feeling so crazed and take her to bed right now. The ball be damned.

Like two waves crashing in a torrential sea, their lips moved against each other. Draco held her at the waist and raised her a little so that he could kiss down her exposed throat. He licked and nipped his way down while she was pulling at his hair in a passion driven frenzy. He moved back up and bit her ear lobe. As a moan escaped her tender lips, he whispered, "You are forgiven." And kissed her fervently once again. He felt a nipple through her dress and as she parted her lips to gasp, he plunged his tongue into her hot cavern. Their lips kept crashing onto each other's and his tongue kept making love to her mouth.

She almost whimpered as he moved away and put her down. "If I stay here any longer, I will be making sure that none of us leaves the bed for a long time Hermione so it's best we leave before I take charge." Draco said looking her in the eye. She was speechless so she simply nodded.

She could feel that her knees were still weak and that she was very very wet. All with one kiss! She wasn't even ashamed or embarrassed about the kiss anymore. She had probably secretly hoped it would happen eventually tonight, but she could have never imagined in her wildest dreams that Draco would react in such a manner once he saw her in the gown. She had to fix her hair once again after Draco had pinned her to the bed post.

Right before they left the room, Draco took her by the hand to the mirror. "Could you do me a favour today, Hermione?" She nodded slowly as he took out a familiar piece of jewellery from behind him. "Wear this?" he asked kissing the side of her neck. She sharply took in a breath at the sensation and let him place the Malfoy heirloom on her neck. They had checked and it had held no trace of magic, so they had assumed Silvius must have simply gifted it to Adelia as it was to be given to one's bride or fiancée.

"Why?" she managed to croak with a clouded minded filled with thoughts of Draco. "Because you are my wife tonight, Hermione. And I want you to have the best of everything tonight and always. You deserve this and much more, trust me. But this is the least I can do right now." He answered as he pressed his lips to her neck once more after closing the clasp of the emerald and diamond choker.

With that, he offered her his arm as they finally left for the ball. Both a pile of nerves with the task of trying the spell tonight. They both knew what it meant to return to the present. They knew their little domestic bubble would then burst. Neither wanted to say it out aloud nor admit to it. And even though they wished with all their heart to return to their lives in the present, being with each other was a part of this life they were now starting to wish that they could take with them back to the future.


	19. Swan Song

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **So, this is a LONGGGGGG chapter. And well, with long chapters, come long lemons!  
Not for innocent eyes and you can skip it if you want.  
Marking it with ~~~~~~~~~~~~ lines. Hope you like it! ;)**_

 _ **Love,  
Mili**_

 _ **P.S. As to what I had dropped off as hints previously were these; the ingredients that Draco had used to disguise the so-called potion for Hermione. They all hold a certain significance.**_

 _ **(Roots of) Acacia Blossom- Concealed love  
(Petals of) Azalea- Take care of yourself for me  
Turm oil- A pun on the word turmoil**_

 _ **smallpeg you are awesome for almost getting it right! :D**_

 _ **P.P.S. Picture edits by me for this chapter!**_

The ballroom was one of the rare rooms where Draco & Hermione had still not set foot. There had been no need until today. It was a beautiful and spacious dancing space with a polished floor gleaming the sunlight, blush pink walls and gilded motifs on the wall. The two storey high ceiling was equally ornamental with beautiful ornate patterns all over it. It spoke of the Baroque period's grandeur from each nook and cranny. Some couples were already on the floor, while others stood around chatting with one another.

As soon as they had entered the ballroom, the older Lady Fawley had almost immediately taken them under her wing and introduced her to every possible person. They could only be glad that the Malfoys were absent and only the local folks had been called for the dance.

They had finally made themselves comfortable and were chatting with a few villagers who wanted to thank the duo when Hector Fawley called for everyone's attention.

"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we are here to show our gratitude towards the Zabinis for being wonderful healers to not only my ailing Mother, but also many of you from the villages. As we all know, they are a young newly wed couple, so I would like to ask them to take the dance floor with this song. We all shall join in from the next song onwards. Hope you all have a great time tonight!

Hermione was prepared to dance a bit with Draco and with others who might ask for a dance with her tonight. What she was not prepared for was to put up a show! The last time that had happened was at the Yule ball when she was Viktor Krum's date. And that was simply because not only she was smitten by the unusual attention that Viktor was showering on her, but also as he was spiteful because of Ron's ignorance towards her.

"Shall we? And we'll do just fine. We do have a lot of sync between us, after all." Draco smirked offering her his hand which she took with a blush spreading across her cheeks.

Lady Fawley looked at the young lovers and smiled to herself. Those two always kept each other at their wit's end and yet were the most comfortable with one another. She knew in her heart that they were meant to be, just like her and her husband, the late Lord Fawley. The Lady Fawley looked at her mother in law's fond expression and smiled as she said, "They are perfect, aren't they?".

Hermione was counting the steps in her head when Draco had interrupted her careful counting and had asked her to simply feel. Now, she was sure that it was supposed to be pun-intended. But dances alone were difficult to manoeuvre without sexual innuendos clouding her head!

The symphony breezed through the air in the ballroom as people looked at the couple swaying in each other's arms so gracefully on the dance floor.

Draco knew that unlike the muggle society, it was acceptable to dance with one's wife at a ball. But even in the Wizarding world, it was rather rude to only dance with one's partner instead of socialising. However, he absolutely refused to share Hermione with anyone tonight. He knew she was a spirit of her own, no one could ensnare that spirit of hers or own her. Yet, he wanted to be her sole keeper.

He grudgingly saw her dance with Lord Fawley and a few other men, while he himself danced with a few dames to not appear rude. Malfoys knew how to keep up with pretences after all.  
The Matriarch was unusually gleeful tonight, which made her yet more endearing for Draco. He made his way towards across the ballroom and requested her for a dance which she happily obliged.

Hermione saw the two in the centre and felt a warm feeling bubble up in her heart. She knew that Draco was deeply loyal and cared tremendously for those who were dear to him, but to see him show his fondness for the old Lady of the Estate so openly was a rare sight and one that Hermione knew she would always cherish. Maybe this was Draco's own way of saying goodbye, she thought wistfully.

The night stretched on and Hermione's feet were now aching, but she had not had so much carefree fun in a tremendously long time. All the outings with Ginny or Luna and Parvati back in the present were half-hearted attempts to cheer up, but those merely served as distractions. Here, in the past, she had found her spirit again. She had somehow found herself again. Without her realising, Draco had pulled her in as the last set started to play for the night.

As they moved to the tunes, Hermione found herself getting lost in the stormy orbs that were staring right into her soul through her toffee-coloured eyes. Draco looked at her eyes and felt like he was being pulled into her very being. His eyes drifted down her perfectly sculpted nose as hers went up from his broad shoulders and his sharp jaw. Both their gazes locked at each other's lips. The need to kiss the other was driving them insane, but both of them knew better than to create a scandal for the Fawleys at a dance that they had thrown in their honour.

Once dinner was served, people started to leave gradually. Hermione and Draco made their way to their favourite old noblewoman and couldn't help but tell her how overwhelmed her gesture had made them feel.

"Oh, this was nothing! You both made me feel young again, my dears. I just can't eat as much cake as I like to have with my tea, but otherwise am as good as a lady can be at my age. And that's all thanks to the two of you." Her smile was as affectionate and full of warmth as a grandmother's might be, Draco imagined. Showing affections so openly was never encouraged in the Malfoy or Black household, but staying with the Fawleys had only reinforced his ideas about how things needed to be changed about how the future Malfoys must be brought up. Hermione felt her eyes well up. With a choked sob, she asked, "Can I hug you?"  
Lady Fawley seemed a bit taken aback but pulled Hermione in for a warmhearted embrace. This time, Draco knew this was Hermione bidding adieu.

The two made their way back to their chambers after taking their leave from everybody. They knew it in their heavy hearts that this was probably the last time they would be meeting them. They wanted to go back, they missed their life and living this charade was not going to help their inner turmoil at all! Yet, they craved to take back parts that they had discovered about themselves. Draco had learnt how to accept and show affections gradually, while Hermione had learnt that it was okay to not understand everything because not everything needed to be fixed. And most of all, they had learnt so much about each other, not just as living breathing people, but as who they were deep down in their hearts.

They locked themselves in the room as they packed the few necessities that they might need for the journey. Draco packed a few healing potions, just in case, along with the alleged enchanted jewellery box. They sat and watched the hours tick until even the servants and elves had gone to sleep after cleaning up.

At two hours past midnight, they made their way towards the Estate gates, from where they were to apparate to the cottage in the Marshlands. They had just walked into the cottage when it started raining outside. "Bloody brilliant!" Draco cursed.

"At least we didn't get drenched." Hermione reasoned.

The two sat with the box on the table. Draco carefully put the earrings on the table without touching as he tried to examine the box. The incantation glistened in the faint light of the candles that they had put in the room.

" _Nos temps est huius._ "

It made as much sense to Draco as it had to Hermione with the literal sense. "Let's do this." He finally said after steadying his erratic heartbeat and pushing aside all the dilemmas in his head. They both held onto each other as if their lives depended on it as they read out the spell.

A few seconds passed but all they could hear was the uproar of the storm outside. There was no flash of light, nothing. Not even a thunderclap.

"Oh, Merlin. I don't think it worked." Draco said looking away to hide the relief and disappointment that flooded him at the same time.

"It might have. It could be raining in the present too!" Hermione knew she was sounding like a loon trying to be optimistic, but one had to be the hopeful one if he had decided to be the broody one, unsurprisingly.

"How can you be so sure, Granger?" There it was again. Him trying to sound all agitated yet in control by using her family name.

"Draco, I can check my watch for the time! Remember how it got stuck in time the last time?"

She dashed towards the grandfather clock in the room, but to her great disappointment, the watch was still stuck at the same time as before while the grandfather clock seemed to be working normally as opposed to how it had stopped for a few minutes after the last spell had taken effect.

"Maybe we should try to do the spell again at the exact time? At 1:25 in the afternoon tomorrow? It might be that the spell can only be reversed at the same time as when it was first done?"

"That could be a possibility. But I really hope it works because I really don't want to go back to the Estate again with no idea about how to get back to out lives!" He now sounded downright angry which really confused Hermione.

"Why are you so agitated suddenly? I understand that it's quite stressful. But being so negative about our predicament is not going to help us Malfoy!"

Draco himself was clueless why he was so wound up suddenly. On one side it had just struck him that his Mother absolutely had no idea about their whereabouts. If they had been missing for the weeks that they had spent here, the Ministry would have informed her by now. But he knew that losing her only son was a trauma that the Malfoy Matriarch wouldn't be able to take. Her heart was too weak, her sanity was already on its edge. Losing him would break her spirit. He felt the crazy need to see his Mother immediately. The other factor was that even though he had seen a new side of himself, he knew the Draco he was in this era was far removed from the one he would be the moment he went back to the present. The fact that he would not be sharing his life with Hermione anymore was something he had pushed to the back of his mind. However, that obviously did not mean that it wasn't what was troubling him so much.

"For Salazar's sake, you understand nothing! My Mother was half insane and without me, she would completely lose it, Granger! She would be in the bed next to the Longbottoms forever if we don't make it back any sooner!"

"And what makes you think I of all people wouldn't understand?" Hermione bellowed. Tears betrayed her, running down her cheeks as she spoke. "I did a memory charm on my parents to keep them safe during the war. I was sure I would be able to reverse it when the War ended. But guess what Draco?" Now she was outright sobbing.

"At least your Mother remembers and loves you more than her life. My parents on the other hand have absolutely no idea about who I am! They only remember me in flashes and that too rarely. And your proud ass might not know of it but they actually are in the Janus Thickey ward at St. Mungo's, right next to Neville's parents since after the War. I tried to bring back their memory and botched it up. Now they remember nothing! Not me, not their old life and not even the false one that I had planted in their mind! So don't you dare tell me that I understand nothing!"

Hermione broke down and fell onto her knees onto on the floor. Draco was beside her in a jiffy and hugged her tight. He almost expected her to push him away but she did not. She could do with this comfort today. She was really tired of putting up a facade all the time. Now her soul was tired. And it could do with the warmth that Draco Malfoy rarely offered to anyone.

He kissed her on the top of her head as he held her in his arms and whispered, "I am so sorry." She snuggled into his embrace as if forgiving him. Both of them had been lonely and forced to be strong for far too long now.

"Hermione..." Draco lifted her chin so that he could look at her. Her tears had now dried up and she looked up at him with glassy chocolate coloured eyes. He did what he used as the best way he knew to comfort himself. He gave in to his desires. He held her tight and kissed her deeply. It was different from the raging passionate kisses that they had shared earlier. This started slowly as if he was testing the waters and then he dove into her soul. He held her snugly in his arms as he dipped her head and kissed along her jaw towards her neck. He sucked a little at the juncture between her neck and shoulders, right where her pulse was going crazy.

Hermione had felt herself come alive this time. Usually, her heart would start hammering and she would lose her senses and get lost in him. Today was different. Today she had noticed how her heart had gradually sped up to, how their breaths mingled and gradually their erratic hearts were beating in the same rhythm. She had felt her body and soul wake up to Draco's ministrations and that's when she knew that it would be a futile effort to keep her walls up around him because he had long climbed over them without her realising. And as stubborn as he was, she doubted and fervently hoped that he refused to leave.

Draco suddenly pulled away and looked at Hermione. As if urging her to say something. Hermione knew he was waiting for her to give him a go ahead. He knew she would overthink and regret this come morning or else. "Take me Draco. Please." Even though her voice was barely but a whisper, the fire in her eyes said enough.

He felt himself go hard at her words. He took her mouth with a fierce kiss as he put his arms behind her neck and the back of her knees. He picked her up in his arms and looked at her for an answer one last time. When Hermione answered his silent question by biting his earlobe and then kissing his jaw, he almost growled in pleasure as he carried her straight into the only bedroom the tiny cottage had.

He cast a silent _Scourgify_ as he gently laid Hermione on the bed. She looked at him with lust ridden eyes as he kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed next to her. He took her feet in his hands and took off the slipper on her left feet and planted an open-mouthed kiss on the insole of her foot. Then, he took off the other slipper and as he looked straight into her eyes, he suckled on her toes, sending shivers of pleasure up her body.

He carefully brushed his hands along her legs, gradually lifting up the skirt of the dress that she was wearing. As her legs came into view, the anticipation of what lay between them made him even harder. He lifted the hem up till her thighs and then went back to kissing her.

Hermione did not mind him kissing her, but when he stopped lifting her dress, she felt a huge amount of disappointment wash over her. She decided to take matters into her owns hands, literally. She moved her hands away from his head where she had been pulling at his hair to move him even closer towards her. She stroked her way down and then slipped her hands under his shirt. He hissed his pleasure in between kisses.

"I am going to take my time with you this time." He murmured as he went back to nipping and sucking at the delicate skin of her neck. Then suddenly he was licking and sucking at the exposed mound of her breasts. Hermione felt her nipples go as hard as pebbles, begging for his attention. He brought out his wand and with one quick spell, slashed through the dress. Hermione gasped but was soon moaning when Draco started to caress her mounds through the fabric. She felt him lazily pull aside the dress from one side and then his other hand was pinching and pulling at her hard nipple.

"Sweet Merlin." He nuzzled and then took the peach coloured hardened tip into his hot mouth. The cold in the cabin was suddenly forgotten as his hot mouth was suckling her breast while his other hand was busy was toying with the other nipple. Then he let go of it with a pop and started kneading both her breasts with his large hands.

Hermione looked at him through half-lidded lust filled eyes and saw that he was not only relishing this, he seemed to be actually worshipping her body. He flicked the other nipple with his finger and when Hermione moaned, the finger got replaces with his tongue that kept flicking her nipple until she was writhing under him begging for release.

She couldn't control it anymore. She held his head in her hands and then brought him up to kiss her. As soon as their lips met, she put her hands to work and got rid of his shirt. Draco took the hint and the remains of Hermione's dress vanished equally fast. Right when Draco was thinking of how to bring her to a screaming orgasm, she put an unsure hand on his hard-on.

Draco groaned. She took it as a 'go ahead'. And touched him with more sure stroked through his pants. She nibbled on his earlobe and gave him butterfly kisses as she skimmed her hand over his hard-on with more fervour. He had never hated his pants so much in his life before. His erection was dying to be free and this vixen under him was secretly a sex goddess who knew!

"Hermione..." he managed to croak in warning. She stopped thankfully, but in less than a minute, her hands slipped down and were in his pants. He moaned embarrassingly loud. She wrapped her dainty fingers around his heated and hard shaft. She could feel the drops of his pleasure leaking from the tip, which she spread with her thumb by rubbing over his tip slightly earning more groans of pleasure from him. She slowly started moving her hands up and down his manhood. He was large, Hermione was sure of that, and her fingers barely wrapped around his shaft!

When it got too much for him, Draco held her hand still and in a second got rid of his confining bottoms. Hermione stared at the appendage in her hands. It was pulsating in her hand. And even though she was no blushing virgin, it made her wonder how will she ever be able to take it all in.

Her own need was now throbbing as she felt a pool of desire drip down her thighs. Draco switched their postions and was now sitting between her legs. He spread her legs and pulled off the skirt that she wore. She was now as bare to him as the day she was born, and so was he. Her nether lips glistened with her juices. It made Draco's mouth water. Last time she had brought her an orgasm, they were rudely interrupted before he could taste her properly and to his contentment. So, without wasting any more time, he looked at her and asked with a smirk, "Mind if I taste you?" Her eyes widened in surprise. She weakly nodded, starting to feel her heady with her hormones.

He spread her legs further and then moved in. He used his fingers to pry away the outer lips and then gently blew. Hermione grasped the sheets to control the shiver that went down her spine! He skimmed a finger over her sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex and before she could whimper again, he took it in his mouth and started sucking on her clit. Hermione had lost all inhibitions and control now. Her mind and body were exploding with pleasure.

He let go of her clit and spread her juice with his fingers and then slyly tried to slide in his forefinger into her. As her breath hitched, he began licking her clit with his tongue. Then in one fluid motion, he had his finger completely inside her. He started mimicking the motion of fucking her with his finger while his tongue continued the sweet torture on her bud. After a while, he added a second finger and soon Hermione could feel a familiar tightening in her belly.

With his mouth still on her, Draco said, "Come for me, love." and with his fingers plunging in and out of her and her clit being driven crazy by his tongue, she came undone. She was breathing heavily and felt extremely tired. It was one of the most powerful orgasms of her life! No man had ever done that to her before! Using a tongue on her was just a prelude to actually doing the deed, but to bring her to such an intense orgasm just with one's fingers and mouth; it left her wishing for more already.

He came back up to kiss her softly and she could taste herself on his lips and tongue. It was a huge turn on for Hermione, somehow. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him until he lay flat on the bed on his back. "My turn." She said with an evil grin. This was a side of Hermione that Draco had never quite imagined. He never could imagine that under all the Ms-Know-it-all mask was this sex goddess!

"Would you like this Draco?" she purred. With that, she started licking his dripping pre-cum off the tip of his penis with her tongue. The sensation of the tip of her tongue on his tip was driving him insane. After the careful ministrations, Hermione wrapped her lips around him and took him in her mouth and the gradually eased his shaft in. He was thick, so it was a little difficult for her to do so. Once she got used to it, she started bobbing her head up and down his erection. He started thrusting into her mouth with his hips, so suddenly, she started sucking on his hard-on. She was now pushing him in and out her mouth by sucking him off with occasional nips and licks with her tongue.

When he knew it was too much for him, he pulled her up and staretd kissing her and flipped them both so that once again she was under him. In a second he was hovering over her on his hands and knees with his glistening tip pushing against her slick slit. He thrust slightly so that his tip got engulfed by her outer lips and she moaned. Loudly.

"Please Draco."

"Please what, Hermione?" He teased as he rubbed his tip along her slit.

"Please don't tease me Draco!" she almost whimpered.

Draco pulled away and Hermione's eyes shot open. "What? You asked me to stop teasing you. So am doing just that!" Draco smirked.

"Merlin! You know I didn't mean that Draco!" she said with a frustrated sigh.

"Then what did you mean Gryffindor Princess?"

She groaned but she knew how to take her revenge so she said the next words in the most sultry tone possible while her lips almost grazed his lips.

"I want you to take me hard. I want you deep inside me and plunging hard and fast until we both are hoarse from screaming each other's names in pleasure."

"Wicked." he retorted as he took her by surprise in one swift move. He moved inside her at an agonisingly slow pace. She swirled her hips to take him in deeper, but he went slowly to give her time to accommodate to his girth. Once he knew she was fine, he started to pick up his pace.

Draco put his hands around her waist and picked her up with his shaft still deep inside her core. He made her sit on his lap and started moving her by holding her up from the waist. His hands slid down and grabbed her ass and started to knead her butt cheeks. He pulled her in closer and now her hard nipples were grazing across his naked torso. The sensation drove both of the crazy. After a while, when Hermione's legs started to feel tired, she started grinding and swirling her hips with him seated inside her core. This made her clit rub against him and she moaned loudly. Draco noticed this and he laid her back on the bed, once again and started to grind his own hips into hers as he plunged into her slowly and deeply. He caressed her soft stomach and brought down his hands to her apex where they were now joined. With his thumb, he started rubbing her clit.

"Oh, Draco! I am going to..." and with the next two strokes she arched her back and moaned his name loudly as she came undone. This orgasm had spread throughout her body and she was feeling as if her entire body was on fire. He kept fucking her as she kept riding out her orgasm. But the sensations just increased as Draco reached his own climax and spilt his seed deep inside her. The feeling of him erupting inside her brought on another wave of pleasure as Hermione went over the edge for the third time that night.

Tired and panting, Draco lay half on top of her, his shaft still lay inside her and was already starting to get hard again. Drowsily, Hermione looked at Draco and asked, "Already?"

"It's the effect you have on me, what can I say?" He smirked at her as he got up and settled on the pillow next to her and pulled her in his arms. Hermione turned to face him and snuggled into his side with her hands and legs wrapped around him. With a sleepy, good night, both drifted off to sleep feeling sated and peaceful.


	20. Vexed

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello,**_

 _ **Sorry for leaving you all with such a cliffhanger. I had not been keeping well lately, but here is the chapter and the much awaited 'morning after'.**_

 _ **REVIEW and VOTE. Keeps me going! This one's nearly 4,000 words long! The more the reviews, the quicker I post people!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Mili**_

 _ **P.S. All you people following and favouriting the story, THANK YOU!**_

Hermione's wand buzzed beside her to wake her up. She tried to pry her eyes open, but the lull of sleep of rather tempting even after the hours of sleep that she had had in Draco's arms. _Draco's arms?!_ With that thought, her eyes shot open and she became still as she realised he was still sound asleep, snoring lightly, next to her. His naked torso was against her back. She could feel his breath on her neck. An arm casually draped over her middle in a firm grip and legs entwined with hers. He felt like a furnace next to her and it was rather toasty in bed with him under the covers. Toasty and a little too comfortable.

Images from the night before flooded her mind. She felt her cheeks go beet red as she tried to twist her head to get a glimpse of his face. She contorted herself so as to not disturb him and managed to turn her neck enough to be able to see his serene sleeping visage. His pointy face looked rather handsome, but that was something that she had admitted to herself a long time back. The lack of a serious or broody attitude on his face made the features softer somehow. He was as beautiful as a Veela, she thought. She had slept next to him enough times now in the Estate that she knew that he had a perpetual frown marring his face, even while he slept. His demons never left him alone. And it had always broken her heart. But today, he looked truly at peace. No smile graced his lips, but a peaceful veil fell upon his face.

Those very lips that had worshipped her all night and into the morning. Hermione knew that kissing Draco could be addictive. Even the ghost kisses he gave to tease her were charged enough. The kisses were a different matter altogether. But just thinking about the sex, about how passionately yet in such an animalistic manner he had taken her over and over again, just the thought alone could give her an orgasm.

She had woken up in the middle of their slumber and given in to an urge to kiss him, which he had returned fervently with another round of carnal pleasure. It was all on instinct. Neither had thought about the consequences of their actions and for a change, neither had thought about what they felt at that moment. At all.

Hermione felt Draco stir as his eyes fluttered open in the sunlight wafting through the window. He gradually opened his lids to see Hermione staring at him open mouthed.  
"I could kiss you some more if that's what you want." He said smiling at her through half-open lids. His post-sex morning voice alone was invitation enough for her to jump his bones, but she knew this was not the time or place for all this. She tried to get up, looking a little flustered, when he pulled her back in bed, in his arms. "Let's not think too hard about this? Okay? It was wonderful. Don't ruin it with your genius brains, Granger." Hermione turned to face him and after a minute or two of wondering how he knew her exact thoughts, she simply nodded. He smiled in return. The sudden cold that the lack of covers on her caused her nipples to harden which made them graze against his naked chest. She could hear his suppressed groan and tried to move away, which in turn made her brush against him in a more intimate manner. The action made his favourite appendage hard enough for Hermione to feel against her bare thigh.

Both blushing a brilliant shade of crimson, moved away from each other in a flash. Both enjoyed a quite breakfast of fruits that they had found in the woods around the cottage. The food in the Cottage could be centuries old for all they knew. Neither said a word but both made sure they didn't touch or were within close-range of the other. It was almost as if they found each other's touch to be explosive, but last night they did make each other explode with pleasure again and again, so it was a valid point.

At around noon, Hermione's curious brain couldn't take it anymore.  
"What are we planning to do Draco?" Apart from the fact that those were the first words spoken by either of them since morning, her tone caught his attention. She had often called her Draco over the past few weeks, sometimes in tender moments when they were trying to be each other's support or in passing. But the way she had called him today, there was something more real, more deliberate about it. As if she had thought about it and called him Draco instead of Malfoy.

"At 1:25 as planned, we should try it again. That's what we had thought, right?"

"There was something else that had crossed my mind?"

Draco put down the book that he had been trying to read to lay off thoughts about the brunette in front of him. Now that she had his complete attention, she continued. There was no longer the embarrassment of last night that lingered on her face, but the fierce determination that overcame her when she had discovered or uncovered something brilliant.

"The earrings, last time we held them in the box as we recited the spell. We were sure they have some enchantment on them or some curse, so we put them aside yesterday. What if they are the key to the spell? We checked them for magic, which they possess, but we do not know now the nature of it, do we?"

"So, are you saying that Silvius never got any time turner? Instead, he got these earrings that are enchanted with a time spell?"

"Yes. See, the time-turner ideally takes you back in time. So, if I were to go back in time, say from our fifth year at Hogwarts to our first; my 15-year old self would meet my 11-year old self. That does not mean that we exchange places with our versions of that time period. We simply step into that time."

"So if we stepped into this time, we should have exchanged places with ourselves, but since we don't exist here, we probably exchanged places with Silvius and Adelia?"

"Yes. Precisely. Or this isn't a time turner at all!"

"What do you mean?"

"Draco what do you know about Wormholes?"

"What holes?"

"Uhh...Wormholes?"

Draco looked extremely puzzled at this point. He was wondering what was Hermione on about, but her latest question sounded rather absurd to him.

"What in Merlin's name is that supposed to be?"

"You know how we can apparate to travel between two places? And time turners help us travel between two specific established times?" Hermione continued with her eyes shining with a gleam of knowledge. Draco nodded and urged her to go ahead.

"A wormhole is somewhat similar. It is much like a tunnel with two ends, each at separate points in space and time. So when you travel through one, you travel through time much like how you apparate." Draco's puzzled expression meant that he understood what she had said but was itching to sate his own curiosity.

"So isn't that the same as what a time turner does? And why did I not come across what a wormhole is in any of our books or notes?"

"Oh, we did!" Hermione jumped from the chair that she was sitting one and moved to sit next to Draco. Pulling a parchment and a quill and some ink that she had found in a drawer, earlier. She scribbled something on the parchment and turned it towards Draco.

 _Tempus Locus_

"What do you think it means?" Hermione asked. Draco remembered coming across the word several times in a particularly dark book that they had found in the Manor when they had started their research. "Time and location?"

Hermione looked at him for a minute then scribbled something again.

 _Tempus Location_

"Now, what does this mean to you?" Hermione asked with excitement dancing in her eyes. Draco looked at her very hard but with a defeated sigh exclaimed, "I know you are onto something, but they both mean practically the same to me, time and location, Hermione."

"What you are saying are the general meaning of the words. What would be the specific translation, Draco?" Hermione egged him on.

Draco thought about it. "Locus and location are more or less the same. Locus is more in a 'space' context, and location means, umm well, location. But both mean the same more or less?" He was starting to doubt his own words at this point.

"That's where we both misjudged what we read! Space is where everything exists. When you say location, you are talking about the specific point where a person or objct is, be it on a map or in time. But, when you say space, it could mean the vacuum, nothingness, just a place or simply the area that an object occupies. And a spell that determines your location, would specify where you are to where you land up. While a spell that warps spacetime, it will open up a vacuum if there are things that one wants to send across, or create things where there is a vacuum, with the help of time, to balance things!"

"Okay, so you are saying this is an entirely different kind of spell from what the time-turner does?"

"Bingo! When we had both read about the spell, we assumed it was some kind of advance time-turner charm, whereas, it was an advanced time turning spell to let one travel in time without actually specifying where one needed to go in the spell itself."

"So wouldn't we just land up anywhere? That would be rather absurd and dangerous."

"The object that was enchanted would be the determinant! I had read something like that! That what you chose helps determine where you land up. And the time turners need to be wound up as far as one needs to go, but with this spell, you just need the object, no need for complicated spells for when you want to travel a huge amount in time. It's a stroke of genius!"

"So basically, Silvius decided to take Adelia and escape in time? This was no coincidence or a botched up spell, it was planned!"

They had not realised in all their excitement they had shifted closer and were sitting with their knees touching. This was just another moment where the two had thoroughly enjoyed brainstorming. Their wits could be at loggerheads and yet work to indefinite levels of genius. Their love for books and knowledge was something that they had always shared, but the reasons they sought them were what had divided them. Hermione wanted to know all that she could to be able to be ready to help everyone, while Draco wanted to know everything to be able to impress the pureblood circle he had grown up in. However, both secretly simply wanted to be accepted and having knowledge seemed like an easy way for that. Also, books were their solace, their escape from the dreary realities they both faced.

At exactly, 1:23 p.m., both stood in the exact same position as they had when Hermione had first said the spell back in the present. Draco held the box in hand and had the other hand firmly held Hermione's much smaller hand in his. Hermione held the box with the earrings in it with her free hand with Draco. As the grandfather clock's hand moved to strike 1:25, Hermione quickly looked at Draco for encouragement as they both recited,

 _"Nos tempus est huius"_

Nothing. 

They repeated the enchantment again.

Nothing happened.

"We are stuck here! This is permanent! We will have to go back and live our lives as the bloody Zabinis from Italy while our friends and family will never know what befell us! Dear Merlin! I wish I had never taken up Shacklebolt's offer! Godammit!" Hermione screamed in frustration nearly throwing the jewellery box.

Draco could feel her frustration seeping into him. He put down the box on the table with a bang, not caring that he could be breaking an heirloom. He turned to face her and held her by the shoulders in a death grip. "Calm yourself down, Hermione!"

"Why are you screaming if you want me to be calm! It's already 1:27 and we are still here, my watch is still stuck in the same bloody moment!"

"I am screaming because I don't know what else to do, okay? I don't." He said calming down visibly as his grip on her loosened and gradually he put away his hands.

"We are doing something wrong. We are missing something." Draco observed in a completely stoic voice. "Hermione, can you remember what all we had with us when the spell worked the last time? The spell literally means _'The time is ours.'_ so I doubt there is a reverse spell to that, except that we are missing some technicality."

"I don't know Draco. I can't think anymore. We are just stuck here."

"You can't be accepting that as our fate. We can't spend the rest of my life here while my Mother drives herself insane and you can't stay here without knowing if your parents actually ever got healed. What about our friends? Think about Harry? Ginny? I know Blaise would be miserable without me even if we are not stuck at the hip like you lot."

Hermione looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Don't make me think about it all. I can't do it again. I just can't."

"What happened to the Gryffindor courage of yours?"

"I am no Gryffindor! I am a healer who is basically a quack! None of this is real! Our identities, our professions, our abilities, our marriage, whatever is between us, it's all a sham!"

Her last words were like a blow to the stomach. He didn't want to think about what she had just said, but he couldn't stop feeling the despair spread through his chest. He steeled himself and took on the impassive shell that he was so used to being within.

"Think Granger. We must be skipping something." He said in a deadpan voice. Hermione's emotions were too charged for her to notice the sudden switch in his. If she had paid even the slightest bit of attention she would have realised that his voice had no tone. It wasn't cold like it used to be back in the day, it wasn't proud, neither was it hurt. It was simply dead, as dead as he wished for all emotions that he had felt for her to be.

"The necklace!" He suddenly exclaimed.

"I held it in one hand when you had said the spell!" He explained. It might not be enchanted but it could be what binds the magic!" He explained. He went to the bedroom where their clothes from last night lay in a pile in a corner. The sheets, now straightened, still reminded him of the tryst last night. But a bitter distaste followed almost immediately as he reprimanded himself mentally. He looked for the necklace and found it carefully placed on the dresser. He grabbed it and dashed outside.

"Here. Put it on." He practically thrust it into Hermione's hands without so much as glancing at her. He avoided touching her and waited impatiently as she struggled with locking it.

He asked her to hurry irately. "Draco, help?" she asked. Hermione was confused as to what had vexed Draco suddenly. He seemed possessed by anger all of a sudden and Hermione could not pinpoint what had caused him to act so. All she could do was try to act normal and hope it calmed him down.

"You can't even manage that much?" he retorted in a tone which was colder than when he had first called her mudblood. This hurt more than anything he had ever said to her before, more than anything anybody had ever said to her in fact. She looked at him with shock brimmed eyes.

He moved from where he stood at the window and pulled out his wand. With a silent flick of his wand, he snapped the necklace shut. The sensual gentleness that he had when he had first given it to her was all gone, it was replaced by a version of Draco Malfoy that Hermione had never seen before. His eyes had been cold and proud when they were young, but in this moment, Hermione couldn't recognise them. They weren't even haunted like he used to often look like after the War. He seemed stone-cold; dead inside.

He came and stood next to her. "Let's do this again. I know it's long past 1:25, but there's no harm in trying." He declared as he picked up the jewellery box again. He put a hand on her back, between her shoulder blades over her sweater that she was wearing once again, making sure that he did not touch her skin anyway. The effect she had on his mind and body was unravelling, but he knew better than to act on his feelings. The hand on her felt as if someone had asked him to put it there on gunpoint. Forced and distant.

She looked at him only to find him staring daggers at the earrings in the box. She gulped down a million questions that crept up her mind and chanted.

 _"Nos tempus est huius"_

The room was flooded with light in an instant. The light vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. And with equal speed, Draco pulled away from her.

Hermione took a deep breath as she looked at her watch.

"We made it. It's working again!"

In the bedroom, Draco stood looking at the corner where their clothes had once been. They had vanished. Just like the life the two had shared. They were back in time. Back in the present now.

Before Hermione could say anything, Draco was opening the door and moving out. "Don't touch anything else. We don't know what else could be charmed. Let's leave. And try to use minimal magic."

They walked out into the Marshlands. The Sun was now setting, casting long shadows. It was eery and scary. And with Draco's new behaviour, Hermione was troubled. He marched straight ahead with her trying to keep up with him. Occasionally he would stop or slow down to match her pace, but would never walk with her.

When they were almost halfway through a sudden rustling in the bushes caught her attention. Before she could say anything, something blurred by her and launched itself on Draco.

"Draco! NO!" Hermione dived in without giving it any thought. Draco pushed the creature off him with all his might and cast a quick _Lumos_ only to see that a strange black form faced him. It had no form, nor visage. It looked like a heavy black floating cloak but unlike a dementor. The spine-chilling creature blasted towards Draco, but his _Seeker_ instincts kicked in and he dodged just in time. Hermione stood there confused for a second before she remembered that almost all dark creatures were sensitive to light, whatever this was. But she knew that even a _Lumos Maxima_ wouldn't help much in this thick forest. But then her brain kicked gears.

" _Expecto Patronum!"_

After many years, a brilliant silver otter appeared from the end of her vine wood wand. It moved towards the black figure and before it could hurt Draco, it disintegrated. It was a lucky shot, but the last resort that she had to try.

"Are you alright?" She rushed to his side. "I am fine." He was panting. He looked really shaken, but unhurt otherwise.

"What in Godric's name was that!" she exclaimed.

"A lethifold. They are like dementors, but they feed on people instead of their despair. Not much is known about them. They were said to be destroyed from this part of the Wizarding World a century back." Draco explained in a much calmer tone as he stood up and brushed the dirt off himself.

"Oh yes! Similar creatures exist in the Amazon and they suck on blood. There, they are called something else, though. They are shadow cloaks that creep on people and devour them, especially while they sleep. This could explain all the bloodless corpses!"

Draco had to give credit to the Gryffindor's mind and diligence. Even after so much turmoil and after literally passing through time, she still remembered what their investigation was originally about. Figuring out the mystery of the bloodless corpses.

Draco needed to go to the Manor to see his mother. He had to tell her that he was fine. They had been away for almost a month now! He quickened his pace and Hermione kept following him.

"Where are we going?"

"I am going to apparate to the Manor to check on my Mother." he said in the same distant tone.

"Okay. I will head over to find Harry later, probably. I have to find the things I left at the Manor, in the library."

Draco did not know what was more important to Hermione than finding Harry or any of the Weasleys. But his mind was too preoccupied to argue. Hermione on the other hand. simply wanted to be there with him a little longer. As much as she had wished to be back, she was having detachment issues with Draco Malfoy of all people! She just wanted to be sure that he was okay and looked after, after the attack.

He held out a hand without ever making eye contact as soon as they crossed the anti-apparition wards. Hermione side-alonged with him as he apparated outside the Malfoy Manor.

"Mother!" he bellowed. He rushed towards the drawing room where he hoped to find her. Instead, he was greeted by a site that had him falling to his knees right at the door.

As much as Hermione hated that wretched room, she couldn't help but run after Draco and once she reached the door, she saw Draco on the floor, sitting on his knees, with his hands trying to support him on the floor.

Ahead, on a huge display, under a pall of silk emerald, lay a coffin of dark wood. On it shined the Malfoy crest, silver and proud even in death. Flowers lay all around it. Bouquets and vases full of magical flowers, cards of every size covered the place.

As Hermione sat beside him, taking in the sight, Draco let out a loud howl as he finally broke down for the first time in his life.


	21. Time heals all

It was a known fact that going back in time by more than a few hours brings upon certain death. It changes the balance and order of things which can only be restored by the death of the travellers in the present.  
Many great wizards had made such failed attempts and lost their lives. Even Dumbledore himself had told Hermione of the same when she had been given the Ministry issued Time-turner back in her third year. Dumbledore would always hint if something greater were possible, but even he knew that time was best left alone. And time-turners were not to be fiddled with.

What they had not realised was that it can affect their loved ones too. Draco had managed to drag himself to the coffin. The duo sat on the floor next to the opulent coffin on display. Draco had not uttered a single word or given any reaction after the initial. Hermione was starting to worry. She had her arms wrapped around him from behind, her head resting on his back and was murmuring assurances.

"It won't be okay dammit! I have lost the only person who actually cared about me! This cannot be!" he suddenly bellowed pushing her aside.

Hermione's shock was written all over her face. Despite his tempers, she could see he was broken and this was just the pieces of a broken soul that were trying to harm her sentiments. She steeled her determination and with all the Gryffindor courage that she had, she stood up next to him. She looked straight into his eyes, "No. You are wrong. There are so many that care for you."

"Oh really? They care because their livelihoods depend on me or some other twisted reason. They don't love me to care enough to turn up if I drop dead today Granger."

His already broken heart could not take the grief anymore. He was feeling as if someone had put a huge weight on his chest and he was suffocating under its weight, unable to breathe or feel the beat of his heart.

Hermione moved in closer, making sure he could see her.

"But I do."

Those three words calmed his temper and put a thousand question into his head about their meaning. What did she mean? That she loves him? That wasn't possible. She had clearly said how she believed all of it to be sham. She must have grown attached to him over the past few weeks. Anybody you live with for that long in a strange place was bound to be a bit important to you.

He tried to ignore the inner voice in his head and crushed any hope that had bubbled up within. Draco turned away without gracing her with any reaction or reply. It stung if she were, to be honest, but he had just lost his mother and she could hardly hold him accountable for anything he said or did at the moment.

The Manor was quiet like in the dead of the night. The only sounds were the sound of them breathing and the occasional breeze outside the windows.

Hermione _Accioed_ an armchair and settled Draco in it. She grabbed a nearby futon and sat down. She had a million things to do, to find Harry, to meet everyone, to find out what day it was! But none were motivation enough to leave a shattered Draco Malfoy on the floor of the drawing room, where she was tortured by his aunt, next to his Mother's coffin.

She could not even find enough drive in her to at least run to the study and write a letter to inform Harry or Shacklebolt. Seeing Draco like this had changed something within her. She felt no joy in returning to their times. She just felt hollow and miserable at being helpless about Draco's situation. Could she have done anything to prevent this? Probably not, her rational side concurred. But, the human mind had to always blame someone of bad situations for peace of mind. Draco could hardly be blamed for Narcissa Malfoy's death. Hermione had grown fond of her in recent times, so she knew that the Wizarding world had lost a wonderful, albeit misunderstood witch. She decided that the only person she could blame was herself for not trying the alternative ways to return home any sooner. She should have tried harder or thought about the basic things sooner. She was so caught up in being a healer and Draco's pseudo-wife that the actual problem seemed to slip her mind most of the days. The fact that there was a problem, to begin with, was a fact she often forgot. She liked that life. She liked being a healer and being Draco's bride was not so bad she had to admit. He would make someone a great husband one day. All that he had managed as a pretend husband in a bygone era was more than what many husbands would do in a lifetime of opportunities.

Draco was now near the bar cabinet. He had taken out a bottle of the strongest Ogden's Firewhisky. He took out two glasses and poured one for himself without bothering with any ice. The next moment, he gulped down the entire shot. Hermione winced at the way his throat must have burnt. She wasn't fond of alcohol, she had never been. It made everybody think less and do things that were rarely acceptable to their sober selves. An occasional drink or two were fine, but the moment a person lost their senses, Hermione wanted to whack them sober.

Draco poured himself another shot and then filled the second glass. Without looking at her he asked, "Ice?"

"No. Uh..I mean I won't drink." She almost wanted to add 'neither should you.' but didn't want to risk another mood swing.

He poured it still and plopped two ice cubes by magic. He made his way across the large room, towards her, in the proud Malfoy manner and offered her the glass. "Drink it. We both need it. I want to see my Mother before I bury her. I must open the coffin and I doubt you are going anywhere."

It sounded like a peace offering more than a shot of courage from him. He needed that courage himself, what he offered her was an offer to stay a little longer in his life. He needed that support right now. He needed her beside him.

She took the glass and gulped it down, grimacing at the burning sensation. Maybe she could do with the shot of courage too.

Draco moved towards the coffin, with Hermione trailing behind. He carefully put away the flowers that were on or around it. Next, he removed the Malfoy crest from the pall. Finally, he took off the emerald pall. He put his hands on the oak wood coffin and grazed his hands on it. Contemplating whether or not to open it. He had to see his Mother one last time, that was not up for debate. What he wasn't sure of was whether he was ready to face the truth or not.

Just as he lifted the coffin's lid, the door to the drawing room opened behind him.

"Draco!"

The young Malfoy put down the lid as he turned to the sound of the voice that had helped him move through his miserable life. Hermione gasped as she turned to look at Draco for his reaction.

"Mother!" He ran towards the Malfoy Matriarch who stood at the door, her gaze not leaving her son for even a second, lest he gets lost again. Her eyes filled up with tears as she sobbed her only child's name once again. With that, he sprung into action and ran towards her. The moment he reached her, he swooped her into his arms and hugged her as if his life depended on it. The emotions were so charged that Hermione felt tears roll down her own cheeks.

Once Narcissa had held her son for long enough to believe that Draco was truly back, she opened her eyes and let go of him before turning towards Hermione and asking her for a hug too. Hermione stood stupefied before she managed to smile through her tears and walked to give Narcissa a tight hug.

"Welcome back my children! I am so glad to see you. But before I ask you where have you been, it's late. You must be hungry. Come, we'll talk over dinner."

She summoned an elf who was equally excited to see his Master and Miss Granger back and in perfect health. She ordered him to set up a table for three while they walked to the dining hall.

In the dining hall, as the elves served dinner, the questions swimming around in Hermione's head were killing her. "Hermione, you must write to Mr Potter soon. Right after dinner, I would suggest. You can call him over if you want to." Before Hermione could protest she continued, "I would like you both to spend the night here instead of your apartments. Give this old woman some respite, please."

"How long were we gone, Mother?"

"Twenty-four days. I counted. I waited each day for news from the Ministry, but when nothing turned up for a fortnight, they started to check the area for spells. The only trace of strong magic was a time spell that they found in a cottage. After trying to understand the spell for a while, they finally gave up after a week and since one can only go back a few hours in time without killing themselves, they thought you came across some form of botched up time spell and got killed, leaving absolutely no trace behind." She broke down into tears with that.

"But I am so glad you are back Draco. Both of you, in fact. Even you Hermione. Everybody was worried about the two of you. The entire Wizarding World. The news of you vanishing spread like wildfire and was talked about in not only the _Prophet_ but also American newspapers like _The Wizard_ to even India in _Nabee._ The world woke up to finding one-third of the Golden trio and the most famous redeemed Death Eater gone. You can imagine the chaos it created." Narcissa exclaimed all this with a hint of pride in her voice as if the fact that these two affected the entire world made her extremely proud of them.

"Harry flooed in almost every day to check on me. Such a sweet young man he is. Ginerva is expecting, yet she would pop in on the days Harry couldn't. Blaise was a dear too, he kept a check on your company and me while you were away. Even Pansy and Theo visited a few times. Two days back, you both were officially declared dead when they could find no trace of your magic or you. The entire Wizarding Britain is in mourning. Harry, Blaise, the Weasley's and I were the only ones who didn't agree but nevertheless decided to hold a state funeral as the Ministry suggested. We knew it in our hearts that two such brilliant individuals such as yourself would find your way back to us."

They decided it was best they owled Harry to join them before they explained what had happened. It would be rather exhausting to explain everything twice and Narcissa was simply content that they were back. She didn't let either of them wander away for even a few minutes. Dinner was a peaceful affair and it was decided that Narcissa would send the letters requesting Harry to come see her at the earliest, with Ginny and Ron if he could manage. She also owled Blaise at Hermione's insistence. A little surprise for Draco wouldn't hurt.

Now that they were seated in the study and waiting for all of them to arrive by half past ten, Draco and Hermione couldn't help but wonder where Silvius and Adelia were and whatever happened to their unborn child.

Exactly at half-past ten, green flames burst in the fireplace and in walked the Boy who lived, next to appear was the chaser of the Holyhead Harpies and the pregnant Mrs Potter née Weasley, Ginny. Hermione and Draco had a disillusionment charm cast on them so that they could reveal themselves once everyone had arrived. Next came in Ron, looking as sad and mournful as the former two. Finally walked in Blaise a little later.

"Why did you summon us so urgently Mrs Malfoy?" Harry asked. "I hope all's well?" Blaise asked with a look of concern.

"Have a seat. I feel you all should be sitting down for this." They all exchanged worried glances at Narcissa's strange request and found seats for themselves that were all made to face the fireplace. Narcissa took her seat next to the fireplace looking calm and composed and happy. Even though it was rather mean and rude, all four guests thought that she might have finally completely lost her sanity after the shock of losing Draco.

"I would like you all to meet someone." She announced.

They carefully came and stood in front of the fireplace and took off the disillusionment charm. As they wavered into view, the four stood up in surprise.

"Hermione! Draco!" They all said in unison, except Ron who had screamed a "Malfoy!" and Blaise who had said "Granger!".

The two were automatically pulled in all directions into tight hugs. Blaise was crushing Draco, while Harry was holding Hermione from one side and trying to hold Draco from the other. Hermione was squeezed between Ron and Ginny from the other side.

"Guys you are suffocating us." Hermione half laughed half cried. They all let go and at Draco's request, took their seat once again.

The next one hour was spent explaining all their findings and how they had stumbled upon some complex time spell that let you travel through centuries. It was decided to keep that fact confidential to avoid any crazy attempts. The lesser wizards knew that there was a spell to take you back years, the lesser destruction would be caused. Harry made it a point to send a team of Aurors to sweep the Marshlands and Forbidden Forest for any trace of lethifolds. Even though they were extinct in this time, Hermione believed that the Lethifolds had somehow managed to escape through the time portal set by the spell.

"Also, the unidentified bodies are probably lethifold victims that the brought along with them. Thus no signs of vampire bites, potions or spells on them. They are from a different century, no wonder we can't identify them. As for the rest, they were simply wanderers whom the lethifolds attacked in the present." Hermione finished.

"What about Adelia and Silvius? What about their child?" Ginny asked in a daze. They had all been listening to Hermione and Draco with rapt attention. Nobody could deny the change of chemistry between the two. They weren't kissing or even touching, but just the manner in which they seemed to read each other and completed each other's sentences said a lot. Even Ron could not deny it that something seemed to have changed between the two. Narcissa looked at them with keen interest and fond eyes. Her old eyes saw the future of the Malfoy family in front of her, only if the two would actually put aside their pride. She could see how much they respected each other, understood each other and even supported each other. But above all, how much they loved each other.

"What happened to those two is something we are yet to figure out. But we really hope whatever it was, was something great and they are one happy family wherever they are today at this moment." Draco finished.

After another hour of trying to process everything, Harry excused himself for an urgent meeting with the Minister. Ginny stayed behind to keep them company while Ron and Blaise left after midnight. Narcissa invited Ginny to stay over, knowing well that it would make things easier for Hermione.

By morning, the newspapers were told that Draco and Hermione were back but needed rest. The period of mourning was lifted much to everyone's delight. There was no mention of a time spell and it was told that lethifolds were involved which Draco and Hermione had taken care of. They had both lost their wands and some ancient magic had made them apparate away to the depths of the Forest of Dean from where they had to find their way back via muggle means without any contact to the wizarding world. The Heroine of the Golden Trio and the new found redeemed Hero was back, and that was all that mattered to the press. For a change, they did not question the Ministry's statement any further. The fact that Malfoy might have used his money and influence a little was a secret that Hermione was never to know about. Kingsley and Harry knew of course, but who were they to complain when Draco kept trouble away.

Ginny had slept in the room next to Hermione's allotted guest room and was still asleep when Hermione found her way to the kitchen at the Manor. "Wow you sure look..uhh.." She turned to find Draco smirking at her. So they were back to normal, she thought. A little happy that he sounded normal, but mostly hurt that he was acting as if nothing had happened.

"I just woke up Draco." she grumbled.

"You wake up looking like this? Oh yeah, you do, you did the same every day." He said leaning in a little.

Hermione tried to shake off her sleepy state and look and feel a little more human and less like a sloth. "Looking like what?"

Draco moved in and bent down. WIith his lips between her ears and neck, he whispered, "Like perfection."

With that, he gave her a smirk, turned and left. Leaving a very sleepy, confused and blushing Hermione at the door.

"Please tell me you did your wifely duties and shagged him mindless?" Ginny stood at the door of her guest room grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh shut up."

"You didn't?"

Hermione's silence encouraged her. "If I were you and Harry was half as charming as Malfoy was right now, I would make as many mini Potters with him in bed as he wanted. All day, all night. I would even break the law and create food with magic, so we never have to leave the bed. Ever."

"Ew. Shut up, I don't need the visuals, Ginevra Weasley Potter!"

"No, you don't. But you surely need Malfoy in your bed having his way with you if you haven't sinned with him already." With that, she beamed, turned around and shut the door to her room. While Hermione stood there feeling extremely puzzled with the sudden change in Draco. Somewhere in the Manor, Narcissa was walking for breakfast and hoping that the earful she gave to Draco last night was going to put some sense into his head and make him see the error of his ways with Hermione. Little did she know that nothing that the two did could ever be normal or lacking drama.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hey!**_

 _ **Hope you all liked it till here, and no it does not end here. We have to learn what happened to Adelia and Silvius and their child. We also, have to see how Dramione overcome their inhibitions and reservations about each other. And yes many of you guessed/hoped it right that it was Draco's casket and not Narcissa's. Cheers guys!**_ _ **  
So stay tuned and review! Long in-depth reviews really keep me motivated and happy! The last two reviews by caprubia and pgoodrichboggs motivated me to finish this chapter on a super busy day. I love knowing what all you like or even dislike about my story! So keep me posted everyone!**_

 _ **XOXO**_ _ **  
**_ _ **Mili**_


	22. Alter

The Aurors had spent the past few weeks combing through the Marshlands and had found two more lethifolds in hiding. They were quickly taken care of by Terry Boot and Harry to ensure that no mishaps occurred. Draco and Hermione were requested to visit the Cottage once again to check for the charmed jewellery.

Later with the help of some scholars and more research on Hermione's part, it was figured out that just as Draco had predicted, the Malfoy necklace was not charmed. It was simply a key to travel through time since it had been in the family for centuries. The spell was such that it needed something to bind the two time periods, something that existed in both the present and in the era one wished to go to. Silvius had guessed that the Malfoy bridal necklace would never be destroyed for centuries perhaps and had used it as the anchor to the spell. The earrings were never seen or found again. Neither was the box in which they had found them in.

The floorboard under which Draco had found them, remained loose, which meant that they had been hidden there at some point but had now vanished without a trace. They had last seen it while they performed the spell in the past. The investigation team concluded that the earrings were somehow left behind in the past and they were the key to the spell, the portkey of this magic time warping spell.

Everything was almost the same as before. Almost.

Hermione slept with lesser nightmares each night. She did not need any dreamless sleep draught anymore. Her nightmares were fewer, and now were more about time warping and lethifolds attacking a certain blonde male. These were nightmares she could rationalise and ignore because she knew that Draco Malfoy wasn't so stupid or weak to get attacked and trapped like that.

She had seen Draco occasionally when he had dropped by to meet Harry and her at the Ministry. His potions were gaining a lot of popularity and credibility with the Ministry's backing. He even decided to donate a certain amount of stock to St. Mungo's for free each month.

Past two weeks had been tiring for Draco. The purple bags under his eyes were back, but the dead look he had in his eyes was gone. He no more resembled the walking dead. He just looked like an overworked blonde young man, which was acceptable. Narcissa Malfoy had been after his life to speak with Hermione, which had forced him to go meet her at the Ministry during his visits. His Mother had threatened to go meet the young witch herself or else.

Even Blaise had joined in on her complaining brigade that Draco was working too hard. But he wanted to finish what he had started before leaving. He wanted to finish the potion for the mentally affected patients of St. Mungo's. Now that his own Mother was less forgetful and more like her old jovial self again, he wanted the same for Neville and Hermione. He wanted her to be truly happy without a shred of worry in her life before anything else.

He worked through the nights, sometimes sleeping in the office itself. Narcissa had often wondered if talking to Hermione would help, but Blaise had told her not to since Draco was working on something to surprise her or so he had said. So she decided to approach the next best person she knew would be able to get some sense into her son, other than Blaise, who was being completely ignored by Draco on the advice taking front.

At a Monday morning, when all the Ministry workers were mumbling and grumbling about their Monday blues, Narcissa was at the Auror office, sharp at nine to meet Harry. Harry had been planning to take a week long leave but was often reminded of how we would need months off after their kid was born. Ginny's morning sickness and hormones were taking a toll on him too. As he moved towards his office, he was surprised to see an equally poised but much more feminine blonde figure waiting for him near his office. Usually, Draco would stop by, but everyone knew those were excuses to see Hermione and not Harry and Hermione.

"What brings you here Mrs Malfoy?"

"It would be Narcissa to you after all that you have done for me and my son." She gave him a warm smile. She would give very subtle glimpses of warm motherly affection that would remind Harry and even Hermione of Molly Weasley. Hermione had told Harry how Narcissa's first concern was that Draco and she were well fed and taken care of before she had asked them anything once they had returned. Ron had also taken the new blooming friendship well, thankfully, but not before he got an earful from both Ginny and Molly at one of the Weekly Weasley lunches. He had been grumbling about Draco because the two senior most Weasleys had suggested calling him over for lunch next week with the rest of the family. That had been too much for Ron who had instantly started complaining. Luckily for him, Hermione was outside with Teddy and Victoire.

Molly was up to date with all the happening once Hermione had filled them all on the details and Ginny had added in the possible juicy bits. Molly had seen Hermione talk about Draco and his endeavours animatedly and with a passion that nobody had seen in quite a while. Even without him being here if he could inspire her such, then why would Molly hold anything against a poor child who knew nothing better than to save his family when he was forced to take the dark mark.

Harry guided Narcissa inside his Head Auror office and asked her to take a seat. As soon as Harry had gone over the formalities of offering tea and then asked what had brought her here, she said that they all must do something to knock some sense into the two of them.

"Who?"

"Dear, Blaise and Draco, shouldn't they be getting married by now?" she said with a stoic expression. Harry was taken aback and even though he knew blood prejudice no more ruled the Malfoy family, he didn't know that wizards were that cool and open with gay relationships!

"I thought Draco liked girls! But uh...to each their own." he quickly corrected himself to hide his shock.

"Oh, Merlin!" Narcissa chuckled. "I was kidding Harry! By the 'two of them' I meant your proud best friend, Hermione and my obtuse son, Draco. They clearly are onto something with each other but are playing some obscure game of pride. Neither willing to relent to the other or show any affection other than mockery!"

Her sudden outburst made Harry feel like he was back at home with Ginny having one of her random emotional outbursts. In fact, she had had a similar outburst on the very same topic that Draco and Hermione were being absolutely ridiculous in ignoring each other! Harry had not seen anything exceptional like undying love that these women in his life kept claiming about. But he never was a very observant person anyway. Not a Ravenclaw certainly, as Ginny and Luna had often pointed out.

"I am afraid, Mrs Malfoy..uh Narcissa, that I am equally clueless as to how can I help you or the two of them!" Narcissa gave a rather glum look which made him add, "But I am sure Ginny can do something about this! She has been eating off my ears about the same thing. She is at home right now. I can floo call her to let her know you would be joining her for lunch if you want? I am sure she wouldn't mind the company!"

"No dear. I must not be so imposing on her in her delicate condition. I remember how nearly everything irked me when I was with Draco. Although, it would be wonderful if you can ask her if it would be alright with her to see me for lunch tomorrow? In Diagon Alley? We can go to any place of her choice." Harry nodded and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, Narcissa Malfoy left with a lunch plan with Ginny Weasley. Who knew that this day would also come?

Harry sighed as the door closed and went back to the heaps of files waiting on his desk, At least these were things he understood. He just didn't understand women and their 'intuition' about things.

The next day, after a lunch carefully ordered so as to not trigger any nausea for Ginny, the Malfoy matriarch and the youngest Weasley were taking a stroll through Diagon Alley. They had come up with a little plan of their own, now all they needed was the perfect timing and set up. This was probably the most exciting thing that Ginny was going to do ever since she joined the Holyhead harpies apart from expecting their first child. Narcissa, on the other hand, felt like a matchmaking agony aunt all over again, just that this while it was for her own son.

Ginny was pleasantly surprised at her company and the fact that it was rather fun to be with Narcissa. She knew a lot of gossip and definitely knew how to pull special favours just by being the charming Malfoy that she was. Draco had definitely gotten the charm from his Mother, imagining Lucius to be as charming made her cringe inwards. Though they were yet to invite Draco, Ginny extended Molly's invitation to lunch to Narcissa who thought startled at first, accepted it graciously. She swore not to say a word to Draco until Hermione invited him as she was supposed to.

Hermione sat deep in paperwork, now that all her files were being passed and reviewed with much ease. She had been contemplating looking at newer endeavours. She loved helping the creatures with this job, but it did not give her the same drive as she had felt when she had started working on SPEW. She wanted to be able to help all those causes at once, but this job was rather mundane and full of red-tapism. As an activist, she would get more work done than as a Ministry official lugging around files, no matter her celebrity status.

She had been feeling a certain amount of restlessness lately and the adventure back in time with Draco proved to add fuel to her fire. She was to meet Draco in less than half an hour for lunch and she was nowhere near done with the files that she had planned to finish. The thought of meeting him for lunch, alone, felt almost like a date. The thought of being alone with him once again made her nervous and giddy at the same time.

At exactly one, a soft knock came on her door. She said a come in, without even looking up.  
"You sure have a lot of work. Want me to just order some food here instead?"

Hermione looked up to see Draco smiling at her and looking at the files next to her rather funnily. "No. I really need to leave this office and see the world outside." She got up, plucked her coat from the coat rack and with a swish of her wand, put everything back in place as they left. It felt strange to walk beside him in Diagon Alley in the present. She imagined they were back in time where half of these shops didn't exist and they would come for weekly errands. Almost as if he read her mind Draco broke the silence. "The old Diagon Alley was nicer. Less annoying peddlers and creeps for sure." Hermione giggled as he guided her to a restaurant in a back alley called The Curry Avenue.

"It has the best Indian curry in the world. I promise." Draco swore as he held the door open for her. It was starting to feel more and more like a date with every passing second. He did not hold her chair for her thankfully, else she would give him a piece of her mind on how she was capable of seating herself, thank you very much.

They ordered after dilly-dallying a bit with some casual chatter. After they were through with their main course, Draco ordered a dessert called _Kheer._ Hermione had fond memories of having it with her parents as a child at one of the muggle Indian restaurants that they had frequented. She dug into the dessert with those fond memories warming her heart as Draco sat smiling at the brunette enjoying her dessert with her eyes closed and heart possibly filled with joy.

He couldn't tell her his secret of course. He would tell her in time, but not yet. But he was mentally celebrating the fact that when Mrs Granger had told him last week that her little daughter loved _Kheer_ from the Indian restaurant down the block, she had been right. It was a memory, not a hallucination, which meant his potions were working!

"So, I was at the Weasley's the other day and we were talking, generally. So Mrs Weasley was wondering if you would like to join all of us for lunch this Sunday?" She could hear her nervousness and hoped he didn't notice it.

Draco almost spat out the bite he had just taken. "Really?"

"Yes! You could say no, but yes they all want you over! Even Ron!"

"And you are sure it is not a ploy to kill me and hide my body?"

Hermione giggled, "At least not that I know of."

"But seriously, even Ron?" he took another bite.

"Okay, maybe I was exaggerating just a little. But the rest do want to meet you. Harry constantly keeps telling them how nice you are and how you have changed and Teddy misses you."

"Harry keeps talking about me but you don't?"

"I do too!" she quickly exclaimed before she realised he was pulling her leg and she had fallen for the bait.

Draco chuckled and a deep harmonious voice washed over Hermione, making her feel a pool of desire swell within suddenly. "I really haven't seen that kid with all this work. So, I guess I will come. I will owl Mrs Weasley once I get back." he added noticing the tip of her nose and her cheeks suddenly turn a shade of pink that reminded him of English roses in full bloom.

After their pleasant lunch, he dropped her back all the way to her office. Right before he took her leave, he looked at her right before closing the door behind him and said, "And Hermione, I am Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, Bad boy extraordinaire. Tell Potter that if he or anyone else ever calls me nice publically, I will make sure they don't ever repeat it or think of me as a remotely nice person."

He winked at her before he finally shut the door after him. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Hermione's heart was hammering in her chest and that infuriating git had not even touched her, to begin with.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Heyo,**_

 _ **Hope you all like the chapter and would not only favourite the story (which makes me immensely happy!) but also leave reviews! The long and great reviews are the reason why I am posting TWO chapters in less than 24 hours!**_

 _ **So, until next chapter!**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Mili**_

 _ **P.S. It's almost over, just two or three chapters more and it's a wrap. :')**_


	23. Weasley Weekly Luncheons

Sunday rolled in quickly and Hermione was reminded of the countless meals that they had all had the Burrow. Those meals had somehow given them a strength during the war, the fact that they were all there for each other, no matter what.

Over time, the Weasely family had seen many changes in the seating arrangements. There were chairs added to the table for Harry and Hermione, for Fleur, a spare one remained for Fred, years after the war, but was later joined by another when George married Angelina. It felt right for them to transfigure Fred's chair into a baby chair for little Fred.

Victoire had her own chair as did Teddy who were now growing up very fast.

The Weasley family was ever growing and Hermione knew that even though she didn't join the family as was expected of her, by marrying Ron, she was always still very much a part of them. Molly wrote to her almost every week, checking up on her mid-week and sending some baked treats for Hermione and some knitted caps and socks for S.P.E.W. She was the Mum Hermione needed in the Wizarding World. And no one could deny Arthur's role in not only hers but even Harry's life.

Harry had Sirius and Remus, but for a very brief period in his life and they were irreplaceable, but so was the eldest Weasley. It was the warmth that he and Molly had that made their family as loving as they were. Even in the face of Puritan blood ideologies, he had bravely taken up being a 'blood traitor' rather than being a horrible human being. They had lost family in both the wars and yet, remained such a strong family, just because they had love. Love was so powerful, it was half the reason why Voldemort could be defeated because he was incapable of love. Love was what let Lily Potter save Harry. And love was what pulled another mother from the Dark Lord's tangles and let her save her son- Narcissa and Draco.

She put on a strappy aqua blue button down dress. The heat was getting to their nerves and one could not just cast enough cooling charms to get rid of it. She looked at herself in the mirror and for some reason decided to try and tame her mane a little so with a flick of her wand, she had her hair looking brand new in a more polished style. She never had any urge to doll up for the lunches, but in the back of her mind, she knew the Malfoys were coming and she wanted to look nice for that. She did not want their approval or anything, but it wouldn't hurt to not look like a vagabond next to the impeccably dresses mother and son duo. Neville had also decided to join them, so had Luna, so it would almost be like a party today.

As she arrived outside the Burrow, she made her way inside and was greeted by Fleur and Bill, who were sharing a rather delicate moment of love. It made Hermione's heart ache for similar affection and tenderness.

She and Ron had had their moments, but their relationship was driven more by the fact that people had expected it of them and childhood crushes played a bigger role than any substantial feelings of love and passion. Thankfully they both had realised it before things turned and ugly for them.  
They had grown apart a little as friends, as was expected after a break-up, but what proved to be the biggest divide between them was the Auror assignments he took up after Fred's death were the ones that had him travelling to far away places. He wanted to escape for a bit, but soon got tired of that life and had recently joined George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It felt great for George to have a brother helping him again. Ron had been back for a year now and was beginning to settle back into his life here.

Victoire was now two years old and Fred II was to turn one soon, the new generation of Weasley's brought on the beginning of a new era, especially with Ginny expecting their first Weasley-Potter baby. Hermione knew she wanted a career before anything else, but looking at all the happy couples around her made her a little bit sad. She knew she wanted children eventually, but wasn't sure if she was ready yet. All she wanted was to someone to go home to every day. Someone other than her cat, Butterbeer, that is.

She knew her marriage to Draco in the past was a cover, but she often found herself missing that domestic bliss she shared with him. Sometimes her inner-self was bold enough to state that she missed her 'so-called husband' and not just the domestic aspect of it.

Hermione found most, if not all of the Weasleys settled in the drawing room, which was as warm and cosy as she remembered. A pregnant Ginny sat in one of the armchairs, eating something out of a biscuit tin. Harry and Ron were discussing cricket in front of a television set. Harry had recently introduced them to cricket after gifting Arthur with a television for his birthday. As if Quidditch wasn't enough.

Molly came over and gave Hermione a tight hug as she ushered her into the kitchen to feed her some scones that she had baked for breakfast that morning. Soon, the Floo went off and in walked Luna and Neville.

"Hello, Hermione! It's so good to see you after so long! McGonagall was asking how you have been after the adventure. You must owl her or else she would pester me with all possible questions. Oh and Hannah sends her greetings everyone, she is really sorry that she could not join us today!" Neville exclaimed. Hermione laughed trying to imagine a nosy Professor McGonagall. It was a rather absurd idea. She never needed to be nosy, she always knew everything anyway.

Hermione soon found herself on the floor, playing with Victoire and Fred II. As it got nearer to noon, her nervousness at seeing the Malfoys increased. She did not understand this newfound nervousness, she had met him more that the Weasleys recently! She had lived with him as his wife for Merlin's sake!

A crack of apparition was heard from the garden and Harry opened the door to find a gleeful Teddy tumble into his arms. He swooped up his Godson into his arms. "See what Draco got me!" Teddy said, showing a box full of _Enchanted flying animal swiss chocolates._

"I hope you know you are not supposed to spoil him Malfoy." Harry grinned as he welcomed Malfoy into the Burrow. A smiling Narcissa followed her son into the Burrow. For the first time, she looked unsure of herself. Hermione got up from her place on the floor with the babies to greet them. She greeted Draco casually, well as casually as you can greet someone after having mind blowing sex with someone.

She moved towards Narcissa who gave her a hug and a soft kiss to greet her. Hermione moved along the duo as they exchanged pleasantries with the rest. Ron looked a little out of place, but that was because he had been away for so long that seeing his family mingle with the Malfoys in his own childhood home was rather unsettling. One could not blame him, really.

While Molly and Narcissa started off on a formal but warm note, they were soon gossiping about the schoolmates they had from Hogwarts. Expect Narcissa to make anybody comfortable with her gossiping skills. Teddy was currently smothering Victoire and Fred Junior and squealing "You are so squishyyyy!" into their faces. This made Draco laugh loudly which in turn made Hermione smile. Harry saw the two with the kids and a jolt of realisation hit him; his wife was right about those two, as she usually was.

Hermione's attention then went back to the conversation that Ginny was having with Luna about Rolf. "Oh, so he is paying a lot more attention to you than those nifflers in his house?" Ginny teased.

"You could say as much as I am paying by avoiding the nargles." Luna replied in her usual dreamy voice. Hermione was glad almost all her friends had found someone except Ron and herself. But somehow it wasn't a lonely thought as she stole a glance at Draco who was currently trying to understand what Harry and George were explaining about cricket and television.

"Everybody to the dinner table! Lunch's ready!" Molly hollered.

Narcissa had insisted on getting the dessert in a letter that she had written to Molly, thanking her for the invite. It was going to be a surprise, she had said.

Hermione helped Ginny move towards her seat next to Harry. Hermione sat between Harry and Ron as usual, but instead of sitting across Angelina and George, she had Draco right across her and Narcissa right in front of Ron.

After a toast to new beginnings, they all dove into their meal. "So, how are the potions coming along?" Harry asked Draco. "They are good. I am improving them every day, and they getting more and more effective. It should be perfectly ready by next week!"

"Thank you, Malfoy. Really. Even though my parents aren't speaking yet, but they recognise me whenever I visit them now. They might not know am their son, but they know I love them and that's all that matters."

"You are working on fixing their memories?" Hermione asked. She had no idea about his new project. He had simply said he was trying to help a few victims of war.

"No. He is simply trying to make them a little more human. It won't change their memory, but would make them a lot less dependent on the staff at St. Mungo's" Harry said as Draco shot him a grateful look.

"But.." Neville interjected and yelped when he felt Harry kick him from under the table and Draco glaring at him from beside him.

"What?" Hermione and Ron both asked. The exchange between the three was rather obvious. The others around them were busy with their own conversations. Fleur was giving Ginny advice on how to transfigure her clothes to suit her pregnancy. Charlie, Bill and Arthur were discussing plans for the next Quidditch World Cup. George & Angelina was making sure that the kids were all fed. Molly and Narcissa were discussing their days at Hogwarts with a fond remembrance.

"Don't think I didn't see that. What are you hiding from me Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter?"

"Nothing!" Harry said. "Your wife isn't the only one who can cast a nasty Bat Bogey Hex!"

"Well, it's my secret to tell Hermione." Draco finally said. "But before you ask me what it is, I am not going to tell you anything. I wanted to let you know once we were sure, but now that you know that we are up to something thanks to Longbottom" he sneered at Neville, "I would rather show you what we are up to. Since I know you wouldn't stop asking until one of us hexes himself into oblivion." he smirked.

"Fine." she concurred.

The lunch proved to be a success and except for a dig or two that Ron and Draco took at each other, everything went perfectly.

"Meet me outside when you are ready to leave. We have a date with someone I believe." Draco whispered in her ears as he picked Teddy up after they had all feasted on the chocolate and red velvet cake that the Malfoys had got for dessert. Teddy was extremely fond of his Uncle Draco. He would take him on 'special adventures' as they called it and spoilt him on occasion, much to the chagrin of Andromeda.

Hermione was surprised to see that Teddy almost clung to Draco. Even more, than he did to Harry! Draco showered him with equal affection and adoration. She knew he was capable of being caring and sweet, but this was a side of Draco that she had never seen before. Never had she seen him show his affections so openly for anyone before, except Teddy! It was rather endearing.

About an hour later, when Ginny had declared her legs were getting too swollen, they had started to take their leaves one by one. Hermione walked up to Draco who was currently helping Arthur figure out the TV remote, not that he knew any better himself. Hermione helped them figure out the 'muggle contraption' and pulled the young Malfoy aside.

"Let's go?" she said. "Can't contain the excitement of being alone with me, can you?" Draco asked cockily. Before Hermione could glare at him, he pulled her towards the garden and with quick goodbyes and thank yous, they left. Narcissa looked at them fondly and strangely, Molly next to her mirrored her expression. She had always imagined it to be Ron and Hermione, but strangely seeing Draco and Hermione today made a difference in her mind. All that Ginny had been telling her all this while was true.

They landed up in a dark room. With a few quick _Incendios_ Draco lit up the candles that were scattered around the room. The entire room was full strange bubbling potions in cauldrons and tomes of parchment and potion ingredients. Draco smiled proudly, "Welcome to my potions lab."

"Why are we here?"

"Because we need to use the Floo in here."

"Why only from here?"

"Restricted access Hermione." he answered.

"So you make all your potions in here?" she asked in awe. Draco and Hermione spent the next few moments discussing his research and how he wished he had more time to spend making the potions versus doing the research, but he could not give the job of such heavy research to novices. Draco had plans of starting actual charities for helping all kinds of creatures and people in the Wizarding World as opposed to simply donating bits from his fortune. All he needed was a headstart and Hermione promptly offered to help.

Draco realised they were running late and pushed her towards the Floo. "Say, Aleya chamber." he instructed. "But Aleya is another name for Will-o' wisps!"  
"Think of it like a codeword. Now go, I will follow you."

Hermione soon found herself in an old building, in what looked like a small office, the size of a cabinet, really. Draco soon joined her. "This is my temporary office." He said, dragging her outside the room only to realise that they were in St. Mungo's. As they moved further, she realised they had Flooed into the Janus Thickey ward!

"Where are we going!"

Draco stopped and turned to look at her. "You trust me, don't you?" She looked into his silver orbs and said a meek, "Yes."

"Then let's go." as he held her hand in his and pulled her along.

He made her sit on a chair and left. Five minutes later, two healers were bringing in her Father and Mother on wheelchairs. Hermione stood up and looked at them. Draco followed them closely and moved ahead to stand next to her.

Helen and Dan Granger looked up at her and smiled. Her father extended his arms towards her as if calling her a hug and as she moved towards him, he said, "My baby!"  
It seemed as if he was trying to recall her name but couldn't, so he settled for telling her that he knew she was his baby. As she hugged him, she felt a warm feminine embrace join them. Her mother was hugging the both of them and sobbing.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione could not control the happy tears that flowed so freely. Draco felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders after seeing the reunion between the Grangers.

"You remember me!" she couldn't believe it as she looked at Draco gratefully, "You did this? You were working on potions for them and the Longbottoms, weren't you?"

"Yes." he smiled, a full genuine and humble smile. Rare for any Malfoy.

"This young man here made us understand who we are and has been giving us some potions to help us with our memories. Some days we remember everything, some days, not so much. But it's getting better. The Longbottoms next door have also improved vastly, they can now remember us and we spend many evenings chatting with them. They don't have any memory, but at least they aren't like the walking dead anymore. All thanks Mister Malfoy, here."

"Please, it's Draco." Draco said as he crouched next to Hermione to face them. It was the happiest day of Hermione's life. Her parents may not remember the complicated name that they had christened her with, but they remembered their love for her and that's all that mattered. And it was all thanks to Draco.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello everyone,**_

 _ **The last bit, where the Grangers don't remember her name but remember their love for her is a part I would like to dedicate to my grandparents that I lost in the past few years. My grandfather suffered from dementia and could not remember my mother, his own daughter, but one look at me at the airport and he remembered everything at once. I have never felt such strong love ever in my life.**_

 _ **Also, tomorrow it would be two years since my grandmother passed away, so it's for her.**_

 _ **I love you both and miss you terribly 3**_

 _ **Also, please review and share!  
**_

_**XOXO  
Mili**_


	24. Felicitations

Hermione opened her eyes and was blinded by the Sunlight streaming through the windows. The knowledge that her parents were on their journey to being okay flooded her with relief and happiness, but was quickly replaced by a sudden sensation fo someone breathing down her neck. She was snugly in bed and a masculine arm was casually draped across her waist in a familiar manner. Before she could register her surroundings, she noticed the gold and platinum band gleaming on the left hand on her waist. Her drowsiness left her in a second and she turned to face the married man that now slept next to her in the bed. Naked. They were both stark naked under the covers! What had she done! And when had he gotten married!

She turned around to face him and with her right hand, gently caressed his cheek to wake him up. His lashes fluttered and he stirred a little but his grip on her tightened as he pulled her in closer towards his naked torso.

So now she was in bed with this stupid handsome married git, with her head in the crook of his neck and his entire body draped around her much smaller frame. The fact that she could feel his morning arousal against her thigh did not make the situation any better!

There was clear evidence that they had had sex and that they were in his room in his bed. But all she could think of was that when on Earth had he gotten married and to whom!

She finally managed to free her left shoulder from under her and used both her hands to push him off her gently. Exactly the moment she realised that she had an exact feminine replica of the platinum and gold wedding band on her left ring finger.

She gasped loudly which made him open his eyes sleepily. Had they gotten drunk and married last night?! Dear Merlin what had they done! Before she could ask anything, the Slytherin Prince smiled at her and the next thing she knew his mouth crashed on hers and he was kissing her with a hunger she didn't know he had. She couldn't help but return his kiss and soon his hands were all over her, kneading her tender breasts as he pulled her in for a deeper kiss. Her hands found their way into his soft blonde hair and she was pulling on it for dear life as she moaned in between kisses.

As she finally decided to put all her questions on the backburner for now, she felt her wand buzz. The buzzing got irritating and just as she tried to get out of the bed to stop it, she woke up.

She was back at her apartment in London.

It was all a dream! Of course! She quickly checked her left hand for any ring and for a second she felt as if she saw the band of emeralds that she had worn as Draco's faux wife. High time she accepted it as wishful thinking. What had that man done to her with his silly charms! She groaned with frustration. She knew he was charming with everyone. It was just that he enjoyed getting a rise out of her more than the others, so the teasing had gone from the annoying kinds to the kinds that often left her blushing and breathless, she reasoned.

She made her way to the bathroom and splashed some water onto her face. She ought to get a hang of herself. Just as she was about to turn on the shower, an elegant owl landed on her windowsill and hooted.

Hermione made her way to the owl which gently took the treat from her hand and was on its way even before Hermione could read who had sent the letter.

The Malfoy seal stood proudly on the envelope with a cursive slant that she was not familiar with. She carefully opened the envelope to find another one within, with a letter attached to it.

 _Dearest Hermione,_

 _Draco informed me how the case that you were working on has been successfully closed even though the mystery of Silvius and Adelia Malfoy still remains. I was told that you insisted on keeping that a secret for the sake of our family and their lives, wherever they might be. I must say Draco's not the only one who is glad you were there to support him on this stance._

 _You know we cannot afford another scandal after so many years of redeeming ourselves. So, thank you Hermione. And now that I am finally at peace with not only my sister Andromeda, but also the Weasleys, I have decided to throw a ball to celebrate the closing of this case and the beginning of a new era._

 _Draco must have scared you with stories of opulence from the parties I used to throw, but this would be the first one after the War and the first one where I would like to invite only people that truly matter._

 _The invites would be sent out tomorrow, but since you would be my guest of honour, I am sending out the first invite to you. Draco would be receiving his roughly at the same time as yours, so he might be equally surprised._

 _Just the employees of Malfoy Industries along with family and friends would be joining us. A few Ministry officials like the Mr Shacklebolt, the Minister himself also are part of the invitees, but that's about it. Nobody that you should be bothered about would be attending the ball._

 _The details are in the invite. I hope to receive your confirmation soon. I shall not take no for an answer so don't break an old lady's, heart. In case, you want the date shifted, we could do that. I will make the changes and send out the invites tomorrow._

 _Regards,_  
 _Narcissa_

Hermione was deeply touched by the letter, how Narcissa seemed to have gone to great lengths to make sure that Hermione would be comfortable with everything. She put it down and even though she was not fond of huge gatherings and preferred homely ones like the weekly lunches, she knew she would not be able to convince Narcissa otherwise. Plus, somewhere deep in her heart, she knew this was part of Narcissa finding her old self back again. The misery was leaving her gradually and her mental health was getting better and better.

She quickly penned down a letter exclaiming how it was truly unnecessary but she did not want to deny everyone a night of attending a great ball thrown by Narcissa. And that she was rather excited for it and the Friday two weeks from now would be perfectly fine.

With the letter done and sorted, she rushed through the motions and hurried over to her office.

Draco was back at his apartment and had been spending much more peaceful days and nights. His Mother had admonished him for not trying hard enough to woo Hermione. All that Narcissa Malfoy did was sing praises of the former Gryffindor, all day. As much as he admired the witch himself, there was only so much that one could hear about another person from their own Mother.

Narcissa had warned him that he better take Hermione out on a date soon or else she would start meddling. And as it turned out, she had. There lay the invitation to the ball where he would be allowed to step in only if he brought along Hermione as a date! How utterly ridiculous! He would not be allowed in his own House!

All day in office, he sat wondering how he could ask Hermione to be his date, without actually sounding like a baffled baboon. He had started to prepare a speech in his head already. But, the need for a speech didn't last long. It was half past six and he was still in his lab. The Floo went off and in walked the object of his desires and torment, Hermione Jean Granger.

"Hey!" she said meekly.

"Hey!" Draco replied, putting down the phial of potions that he had been trying to study for the past one hour.

"Got the letter, huh?"

She nodded as she dusted off her clothes.

"My mother can be frightfully firm."

She chuckled at his revelation, "I realised that."

"So?"

"So?" Draco asked, seeming confused. Was there anything else that he was supposed to know about? Did he miss something in the letter or otherwise? Hermione moved towards him and was soon standing next to him. She gently placed her hand on his arm and looked at him.

"Thank you." was all she said. Draco murmured, "What? No. I mean why?"

"My parents. It's the best thing anyone has ever done for me. The most thoughtful. And or all that you did for me when we were stuck in the past. And..everything Draco." With that, she stood on her toe tips and gave him a sweet peck on his cheek. That little shy kiss probably was more laden than the explosive time that they had spent in the Cottage, exploring each other's bodies.

Hermione now looked keenly interested in their shoes as she looked down while continuing. "You are a great person Draco. Never doubt that. You might have been a git back at school, but you were loyal and never a coward. I am sorry if I ever thought those things about you, but you are so much more. And in the past, I might have been a little stand-offish, but that was nothing against you, I just didn't know how to act as a _wife._ Whereas, you? You would make someone a wonderful husband one day." With that, she gave him a sad smile and turned to leave as quickly as she had appeared.

"Hermione!" He called out in a rush right when she reached the fireplace.

"The Ball? I mean will you be my date for my Mother's ball?"

Hermione gave him a dazzling smile as she consented before flooing away.

That night when she went to sleep, she felt a little less guilty if mistreating Draco and a lot happier that he had asked her to the dance. She had hoped he would, but somewhere the narcissist in her had constantly been telling her that why will he take you when he can take the gorgeous pureblood witches that are ready to drop dead at his beck and call.

Draco was taken aback by Hermione's visit. She had dropped in out of the blue and the entire conversation had felt like a dream. The only proof that she was ever there in his lab was the Floo powder that had spilt from the fireplace when she stepped in.

Blaise Zabini was fairly impressed that his best friend had grown a backbone and had the brains to ask Hermione to the dance before some dimwit like McLaggen would pester to be her date. However, he could not understand how on Earth did the Draco Malfoy, Malfoy heir, Slytherin Prince, King of Ferrets, fall in love with Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of our Age, Gryffindor Princess, Champion of all possible Causes. Of course, Draco had said nothing of that nature. But Blaise had grown up with the strange chap. He knew his silences better than anybody else. Draco's actions spoke much more than his words. And his actions were always subtle. The fact that he cared enough to be thoughtful towards Hermione apart from having great respect for her from the beginning meant that Draco felt a lot more strongly for her than he cared to admit. And the young Malfoy had admitted to being attracted to the bushy haired brunette, which was a huge confession coming from him.

Blaise sat in the parlour, waiting for his friend to turn up. Narcissa was busy preparing for the ball and had employed extra house elves for the task from S.P.E.W., a fact that had overjoyed Hermione. Both the young lads, along with Pansy and Theo were expected to help her prepare and Merlin knew what would happen if they refused. Nobody wanted to face the wrath or emotional blackmail at the hands of the Malfoy Matriarch.

"You cannot wear that to a ball! Seriously! NO!" hollered a very pregnant Ginny. "Why not?" whined Hermione, holding the slim fit black dress in front of her shoulders.

"Because it might make you look sexy, but it is so boring! I mean come one! Don't you think Draco would look amazing in a tuxedo and you would look rather boring next to him in this?"

Hermione sighed, putting down the dress. "I have had enough of fluffy fancy dresses for a lifetime, Ginny. I literally wore them every day when we got stuck back in time. I doubt it will make any difference to Draco. He has seen me in every possible dress."

"Who said anything about impressing Draco? I had just said you shouldn't look too simple next to his handsome self. Do you want to impress him? I doubt you need any clothes for that." The red head smirked when her friend blushed a shade that matched her hair's.

"Um..no! I just...it's just that I really don't want to buy another crazy ball gown. The dress I bought for the Yule Ball has never seen the light of day after that night. So, I think it's rather unnecessary."

Just then, an owl swooped in through the window and left a little package next to Hermione. The brown paper wrapped package had a note attached to it.

 _Hermione_ ,

 _I do not know what you might be wearing for the ball, but I was hoping you could use these. Consider them a gift for saving my son and bringing back his old self. I can't thank you enough. Hope you like_ _them_.

 _Narcissa Malfoy_

Hermione removed the wrapping and found a black velvet box within. Inside lay a pair of emerald earrings so exquisite that she could not help but gasp loudly. A pair of emerald drop earrings gleamed from within. Attached to two round emeralds were two tear-drop emeralds. The jewellery was simple and elegant and way too expensive!

"Malfoy really went ahead of himself this time. Instead of raiding the family vault, he actually went and bought you these this time! Wow!" Ginny gushed.

"Yes, but the other Malfoy sent these."

Ginny gave a puzzled look.

"They are a gift from Narcissa." Hermione handed over the note to Ginny.

"I cannot accept these! They are too expensive! Perhaps they have done enough! Draco gave me enough jewellery already, seriously! The Malfoys need to know that am not even fond of jewellery! Urgh!"

"But they have never given you anything you haven't liked, have they? Plus a wedding ring was necessary to play the part of his wife and Draco just got you the one which seemed to suit you the best. And the necklace was something you guys already had and he just wanted you to wear it for the night, that's what you told me, right? And since both are now back in time in the Malfoy vault, hopefully, this is technically the only one actually gifted to you."

"But I can't accept these, Ginny." Hermione sat down looking at the box in her hands.

Ginny stood next to Hermione and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "But returning them as it is, might hurt Narcissa's feelings, Hermione. Why don't you wear them to the ball and then return them later? That way she wouldn't feel bad that you didn't like or use them and you wouldn't feel guilty for accepting such an expensive gift?"

"I should probably right back to her about this."

Hermione penned a letter to Narcissa, raving about the earring and how she couldn't accept them as a gift for they were too precious! She ended the letter by saying that she loved them a lot and would thus wear them to the ball, but she apologised for she wouldn't be able to keep them.

With that done, Ginny managed to convince Hermione to buy a new dress that might be simple, but at least match the beauty of the earrings. Hermione refused to buy any of the opulent dress robes available at Madam Malkin's, so the two witches soon made their way to Muggle London, after all, Muggle fashion was way ahead of their times anyway.

Back in Diagon Alley, Blaise Zabini was now getting irritated with Draco trying on so many various tuxedos. Tuxedos were not a common wear in the Wizarding World so the choices were limited, but for the first time, Draco insisted on trying all of them to ensure that he picked only the best. Draco was usually so sure of himself that he knew what he wanted without even trying, but he seemed nervous.

"Draco they literally all look the same!" the Italian sighed.

"Okay. Yeah. You are right. Fine, I will take the one I wore previously in that case, and can you arrange for a pocket square, please? In a shade of red?" Draco asked turning to the sales assistant.

As they left, Draco asked Blaise to wait for him at the Leaky Cauldron for he had to go pick up something from another shop. He had to reassure the dark haired man that he wouldn't spend ages trying to choose things, for he just had to pick up an order he had placed last week.

Later, the two men apparated to the Potter's as per schedule. Harry looked like he had not slept in a while.

"Mate, you okay?" Blaise asked as Draco looked at Harry with a look that one could mistake for concern on Draco Malfoy's face.

"Just really tired. Haven't really slept at all. And the amount of work at the office just keeps increasing."

"What is keeping you up?" Draco asked grabbing a chair.

"My wife. Never get your wife pregnant. I mean am glad we are going to have a child, but Ginny is even more emotional and excited about things than before!"

"So uh, it's the hormones I guess."

Harry's red face gave them the answer and they burst out laughing. "You can't be upset that your wife wants sex! Ask Theo! He practically has to beg Pansy." Blaise managed to say in between his laughs.

Harry shot them both with a dirty look which made them just laugh louder.

"Fine. Laugh all you want. We'll see who is laughing at whom when your wife is pregnant with your first, goes all ballistic on you and you have no idea what to do."

At that, an image of Hermione standing with her back to him, came to Draco's mind. She stood facing a window. She then turned and smiled at him sweetly. He took in her radiant smile, her messy hair piled on top of her hair and the muggle loose clothes that she wore. What took his breath away was her swollen belly and how it made his insides swell with pride that this is what he wanted. Her. A future with her.

Harry walked out of the room to retrieve the files that they had to discuss before the next meeting was scheduled with the Minister for potions that Malfoy Industries had planned to create for Aurors that worked on-field. With Harry gone, Blaise noticed Draco's lost state and quickly punched him playfully. "Thinking of how soon you can shag Hermione with mini Malfoys? Aren't you."

Draco scowled at being found out and decided to reprimand Blaise, instead. "Oh shut up! There's nothing between us."

"And that's why you asked her to the ball and not Astoria?"

"No. I asked her simply because I know she had no one else worthy enough to bring with her, plus the ball is in our honour, so it's just convenient that we are with each other."

"So no feelings?" Blaise asked in a mocking tone.

"I don't feel, Blaise." Draco stated frankly. Even though this once, he was lying with a straight face, blatantly.

"You slept with her if am not wrong? And that was just once while you could have had her as many times as you dared? Whatever happened to the go-getter Malfoy? Since when did he become so concerned about the feelings of the girls he bedded?"

"Hermione isn't like those girls. Plus, if I did anything wrong to her, she would hex my balls off and I quite like them on me, thank you very much. Plus, it would hardly be sensible to vex her and screw the reputation that I built. I am on good terms with two-thirds of the Golden Trio and I had like to keep it that way."

"Suit yourself." Blaise dropped the topic as Harry returned with the files to the drawing room where they were seated next to the fireplace.

A stunned Hermione stood in the hallway, near the main door from where she had overheard the entire conversation. She could not believe how naive she had been! She had almost fallen for his charms! He was still nothing but a slimy Slytherin prick. Ginny stood next to her with an expression that mirrored her shock. "I am sure he was just trying to avoid Blaise's accusation of having feelings towards you." she tried to reassure her friend and herself.

"I think I need to be alone. I will see you later. Thanks, Ginny. And don't tell anything to anybody, please." With that, she turned on her heel and left just as quietly as she had arrived.

Ginny saw the hurt and remorse etched all over Hermione's face. She knew it was a bad idea to let her be alone at a time like this, but there was nothing anybody could do to fix Hermione's wrath at the moment. Ideally, she should talk it out with Draco and then send him after her to apologise. But he was right, she would hex off his balls.

So she waited until the guys finished their discussion and then asked Draco to stay behind for a while. She wanted to speak to him. Alone. This made Blaise and Harry raise their eyebrows, but her tone made Harry glad that Draco was being subject to his wife's scrutiny and not him for a change. What they discussed, unfortunately, could not be heard even with the improved Extendable Ears that George had gifted Harry. Ginny was also a Weasley after all and knew that Harry would try that, perhaps. So, Blaise and Harry simply stood in silence while the duo discussed God only knew what in the drawing room.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **Hello!**_

 _ **I am sorry for uhh, this? But I need to clear out a few things so this. Plus, I really don't want to finish this story. I have grown very attached to it. Hehe**_

 _ **Anyway, I will post the last chapter on 14th of February for this book. A symbolic end, maybe? Or just an easier date to remember by all means. However, there are just one or two more chapters to go before this ends.**_

 _ **Hope you liked it :)**_

 _ **XOXO  
Mili  
**_  
 _ **P.S. The person who left a guest comment on Chapter 22, thank you! I am so happy you liked it so much! I hope you had left a name so that I could thank you with that a little more personally**_ __


	25. Hexed

_**(A/N)**_

 _ **I found this really amazing video of a Dramione version of 'Crazy in love' from Fifty Shades of Grey. Everyone should definitely have a look at it! Hope you all like this chapter too :) Also, ahem look out for the curvy lines ahead! Not for the younger eyes!**_

 _ **And a long author's note about future updates and my love for you all at the end. Please do read even if you are a new reader/follower of this story!**_ __

The red haired Mrs Potter was losing her mind trying to drill some sense into this imbecile man in front of her.

"Are you even listening to what your stupid mouth is spewing Malfoy? It's not even making any sense. Some shit logic you have there!" She said finally heaving her heavy self off the armchair that she was sitting on. She could not believe how absolutely infuriating and dumb men could be when it came to accepting their feelings!

"Stupid pregnancy hormones. Merlin, Harry was right." Draco murmured facing the window.

"What did you say?!" with that her famous Bat-Bogey Hex came flying at a livid Draco Malfoy in the Potter's drawing room at 12, Grimmauld Place.

Draco was feeling weird creatures move grow within his nose. He knew she was an expert with the nasty charm but didn't know she would actually hex him with it! "Okay! Fine! I'll listen to you! I promise. STOP THIS!" He managed to spit out before anything came flying out of his nose. Ginny looked like she considered what he said for a moment and then said the reverse incantation to the spell.

Once Draco stopped panicking and was sure everything was normal with and within his nose, he looked at her with a crazed expression. "Sit down Malfoy. We need to talk." Not even the Chosen One had ever protested when his wife took that tone, so who was Malfoy to deny her what she wanted.

"Do you or do you not have feelings for Hermione? Do not lie. Just answer the truth. I won't tell her. I can swear it if you want."

Her hormones really were driving her crazy, from the hex throwing madwoman, she was back to being a soft spoken best friend.

"I don't know." Draco answered truthfully. When he saw Ginny's expression, he knew it was better he explained himself before another curse came flying his way.

"I really don't know Ginny. There have been times that I have felt things for her that I have never felt for anyone else. Simple things even. Some things about her really fascinate me while others continue to surprise me even though she is still the same bookworm and stickler for rules that she was back in Hogwarts. I am attracted to her, but my feelings for her are beyond the attraction, but I don't know Ginny. I really don't."

Ginny mellowed down a little after she saw how disheartened he looked. There was something that was still nagging him, she was sure of it, because of how he spoke of Hermione and how he behaved around her was definitely not something one wasn't sure of.

"You love her" Ginny stated. "No, I.." he began before he was interrupted. "I am not asking you Draco. I know it. I might not be your best buddy, but I am not an unobservant idiot like most you men seem to be nowadays. Do you know how long it took for Harry to accept his feelings when I was willing to die for him?"

At her last sentence, Draco looked at her with a questioning stare. "It took him years and Hermione might not have jumped at the chance to take an _Avada_ for you, but she has done a lot of things for you in her own way. A lot of it already."

Ginny moved to sit back. Her feet were swollen and she had spent a lot of time shopping with Hermione. She looked around for a bottle of water when Draco passed her one. She was mildly impressed with his thoughtfulness and perceptiveness. She didn't know whether this side of his existed before and was dulled with the bigotry instilled in him or was it something that had found its way after he had started being around Hermione.

"See Draco, all I can say is that she heard all that. And I don't have to tell you how hurt Hermione must have been. You both wear your scars proudly, are independent and all, but sometimes it's good to have someone to fall back on. Friends are there, but to be able to open your soul to someone else is different altogether. I can't dictate what you say or do, but I know that you mean a lot to each other so don't throw it out of the window with some twisted sense of self-preservation. Just think about what all you might be losing out on."

Draco let the words seep in. What all he might lose out. The thought was dark and full of despair. He knew he had a lot of responsibilities and had no scope of mucking up things, but it was hardly the reason to not have Hermione in his life. He was happy to have her around, even if he wasn't the person she turned to in the darkest of her times. With her, he was happy simply existing. She drove him up the wall with her know-it-all attitude, vexed him with her comebacks, endeared him with her coy glances and blushes and crazed him with her moans when she sighed in his arms. She was everything and so much more that he could ever wish for.

He _loved_ her.

The cat was out of the bag and duly accepted.

"You are right. I love her, okay? But she doesn't deserve a man who can't tell her that every day! As 'normal' as you may think I am, I am screwed up in my head, alright? I am still learning how to empathize and show sympathy! I am still learning how to accept love let alone give it out. Do you really want your best friend to be with such a man?"

Ginny felt her heart clench at the sight. Before her no more stood the proud Malfoy heir, but a heartbroken man who was drowning in despair by the second.

"Draco?"

He looked up.

"Hermione doesn't need a man who will shower her with love and attention all day or every day. McLaggen does it enough and she loathes him." He smiled lightly at her attempt at a sad joke.

"She would want a man who is simply there for her. Someone who believes in her rather than who believes in a frivolous show of affection. She has everything she could possibly want. The only thing is that she needs someone who understands her inane need to learn about things, her crazy motivation to help everyone and someone who might not support her causes but would be there for her through thick and thin. Ron helped her with all her causes you know? Everyone expected them to be married soon. You know why it never worked out between them?"

Draco nodded a no.

"Ron tried very hard. He supported her with all her causes. Brought in all the help that he could muster. Talked to contacts, found research material, everything. But you know what he lacked? He was trying to make her happy, but he didn't understand why all this made her happy. She doesn't need another friend trying to help her. She has plenty of those and she is one-third of the Trio for Merlin's sake, of course, people listen to her! We all have always supported her the best we could but honestly, none of us have been able to keep up with that crazy brain of hers. All until she met you. You might not admit it Draco Malfoy but you have long since redeemed the Malfoy name, so now all the philanthropic attempts you make at potions are basically your passion. You like it. Exactly like her but in a twisted manner."

"I was trying to clear my conscience, Ginny. Nothing else."

"Now, were you? Then how do you explain cancer ridding potions that you have been trying to make? Hermione told me about them and cancer isn't even a disease in the wizarding world!"

Draco decided to stay silent. Maybe Ginny was right. He liked working on these projects. They gave him a thrill, a sense of direction and joy.

Twenty minutes later, a very haggard looking Draco emerged from behind the closed doors. He found two very startled looking wizards trying to eavesdrop on them with the Weasley's Extendable Ears. "She will kill you." was all he said before he left through the front door in a hurry. Ginny followed only to find her husband and a flustered looking Blaise trying to hide something behind them.

"Don't look so scared. I know you guys heard nothing. I am their sister, remember?" She looked surprisingly smug and happy for a tired pregnant witch.

"You sure she didn't actually beat him up or sit on him to torture him?" Blaise asked and Harry shrugged in response.

"Nah. I just hexed him." she casually said as she crossed them to go upstairs. Both men moved aside in a jiffy, neither wanted to be her next victim.

Hermione was a mess. Butterbeer was constantly meowing and purring to soothe her but she had come into the house and was now crying herself to the ground while sitting next to the sofa. She looked only half as miserable as she felt.

She had lost count of how long she had spent like this. She was just glad that at least nobody had followed her back. She knew she would not have been able to face anybody.  
Finally, when she had thought she found someone who not only cared for her but actually understood her, he had to go and blow it up in her face. He had just used the chemistry between them as an excuse. That bastard!

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. She almost screamed at the person to go away when she realized that all her friends would Floo in or simply get through the wards, so this might be someone from the Ministry or a muggle neighbour. She somehow dragged herself across the floor and managed to reach the door. Before she could haul herself up to open it, she saw that a piece of card had been slipped under the door.

She curiously picked it up and saw that it was blank on both the sides. Whoever had left it must be playing a prank, she thought. Her life was but a joke, after all.

Suddenly, black lines started appearing on the card. She sniffled her nose and wiped the tears away to get a clearer look. Words started forming on the card.

 _I don't think you want to meet anyone right now. So I thought we can talk like this?_

Hermione was intrigued. Who was this person? She wanted to yank the door open to see this mystery person, but then her mind cautioned her that what if it was the blonde haired bastard? Some part of her was longing for it to be him, the other hoped all forms of curses upon him. New words began to form on the piece of paper. She got up to find a quill to write.

 _You don't have to write back anything if you don't want to. Just hear me out? Please?_

So it was him. She gulped down her tears that were threatening to fall again and found herself in a dilemma as to listen to him or not. She endlessly chewed on her lower lip to the point of bleeding. She hovered the quill on the reverse side many times before pulling back. After a few more messages appeared, pleading to her, she wrote back a single word.

 _Fine._

This was met with another single word reply.

 _Sorry._

Then new words started to form and it was like he was writing endlessly. As she read on, new words started appearing. This was like the two-way writing spells they used to talk in class while at Hogwarts. Parvati and Lavender used to use it all the time for gossiping in between lessons.

 _I am scared. What I said to Blaise was shit. It was wrong and full of lies, okay? I know it must be terribly hard for you to trust me after years of disrespect and bigotry that you have received from me. But what all he said scared me because he was very close to the truth Hermione. And everything I believed in has been taken away from me in the past few years. Everything. These materialistic things matter no more and I only have my Mother with me._

 _I am scared of a broken heart because I can bear the pain, but I don't know how will my Mother live to see me suffer that pain. I don't even now if you are understanding what am I trying to say to you. Just know that Blaise was right and I simply did what I do the best, became a coward and I lied._

Hermione's chest felt heavy with unshed tears. But this time, the tears were for this beautiful remarkable man who always belittled himself. She knew by now that the Malfoy pride was just a facade and he blamed himself for a lot of things he had no control over. She had long forgiven him for the past and so had the world. Now nobody saw him as an ex-Death Eater. Everyone remembered him as the greatest potion master of their time. But did he believe in all this? No.

 _You are not a coward._

_You are not a coward for rejecting what you feel Draco. Because we Gryffindors are no better at it, and we are known for our courage! But if you believe that you don't deserve all these things that are scaring you right now, then you are not a true Slytherin. A true Slytherin knows their worth. And they are cunning enough to get what they want, no matter what._

Hermione heard him stir outside the door. It sounded like he had been sitting on the floor leaning against the door, exactly how she was sitting. Once she was sure he had stood up, she moved to open the door.

She opened the door quietly with her gaze to the ground. She coyly looked up at him to find Draco Malfoy looking disheveled look as if a bulldozer ran over him with a maniac wide grin that spread across his face as he saw her.

He wasted no time and before you could say kiss, he cupped her face with his hands and was kissing her like a dying man. He cradled her neck with one hand and ran his other hand through her curly mane while she returned the ardour with equal fervour. She moved into his embrace and had her hands in his blonde locks, pulling him in for the kiss.

They moved inside and Draco shut the door behind him with a swift kick. Then he turned Hermione's back to face the door and the next thing she knew, her back was slammed against the door while Draco ravished her. He nipped at her lower lip as his tongue found its way into her mouth as she moaned at the delightful feeling he ignited in her. Her insides were on fire as she felt Draco plunge his tongue into her mouth and rolling it inside as a reminder of what he wished to do to her in a while.

"And if you haven't figured it out yet, I love you Hermione Jean Granger." he said suddenly stopping and looking at her with an intense gaze as if that way he could reach her soul through her eyes. She looked back at him, right into his silver eyes and into the heart that might appear cold as ice, but was full of so much concern and love secretly; a heart that was purely Draco Malfoy.

She almost leaped into his arms and kissed him back with renewed passion. She broke apart panting as she peppered him with soft kisses on his nose, then his jaw, then his neck and finally his earlobe. He had just made the biggest revelation of his life and even if Hermione did not return the extent of his feelings, she was clearly happy about it, He could feel his heart hammering in his chest with the adrenaline rush. Right before she bit into his earlobe, she whispered, "As crazy as it sounds, I love you too Draco Malfoy."

Draco's mind knew nothing else. Her revelation had him scooping her up bridal style and putting her on the dining table which he cleared with a quick charm. He made her sit on it with her ankles locked behind his back. They were kissing like two mad lovers reunited after a war. For them, perhaps the war had lasted longer since their demons never left them alone, until now.

He quickly got rid of the coats that they wear wearing. She moaned as she felt his cold hands snake under her shirt. His hands made their way up to her scorching flesh and lightly grazed under her breasts. She whimpered at the touch. She could feel a pool of desire forming below her navel. This time there was something different about what they were doing. It was as savage, as raw and intimate as it could be. Yet, there was a certain tenderness about it, a certain amount of love that had ebbed its way in.

Draco grazed his hands all over her soft flesh and with an expert flick of his hand, opened her bra. Hermione had her hands in his shirt already, and as she felt her bra pop open, she left his lips alone to leave a trail of hot open mouthed kisses along his jaw and towards his chest. Both were soon panting and shirtless on the table. He looked at her with the same intensity once again that made her giggle. He looked at her flustered.

"I can't believe it still!" she smiled.

He took her in his arms and gave her a slow sensuous kiss just to make it all the more real. "But it's true, love." The endearment shot an arrow of joy through Hermione's heart. She could feel her taut nipples grazing against Draco's chest. It made both of them moan with pleasure.  
He traced the curve of her neck gently with the back of his right hand until he reached her rose-tipped orbs. He grazed her sides with both his hands which made her sigh and beg for more. He teased her with more such caresses until she pleaded.

Then he took both her breasts in each hand and started kneading them as his lips crashed onto hers once more. He started playing with her nipples while Hermione grazed her nails lightly over his. He groaned into her mouth which made her smile slyly. Soon he had drifted down and took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked hard. She almost orgasmed right there.  
He sucked on it and then started rolling his tongue against it. He kept sucking and teasing, finally letting go of it with a loud pop. He swiftly turned his attention to the other peak and gave it a flick with his tongue. When moaned and ground her hips against him in return, he licked it and kept flicking it as if it was her clitoris begging for his attention. Hermione was sure she would combust right then before even getting rid of her knickers!

Hermione could feel his arousal between her legs, grinding aginst her own wet core. She could feel his member pulsating even through their clothes. She wanted him to feel as good as he was making her feel so with a dazed mind, she skimmed her hands across his torso until they settled on the waistband of his pants. Draco looked up at her for a second before going back to fondling her breasts. She soon felt one of his hands slide down and rub her through the pants that she was wearing. She regretted not wearing a skirt then. Hermione knew what was on his mind, but today she wanted to tell him how special he was to her. She quickly opened the buckle of his leather belt and the fly of his pants. But before she brought them down, she rubbed him through the fabric which made him almost bite her nipple in joy.

The sent a wave of pleasure directly to her core. Both could play this game, she mused. She pushed down his trousers and was soon stroking him through his black silk boxers. Typical Malfoy, she thought, amused. He was already rock hard, but as she stroked him, she felt him grow bigger in her hands. The fact that she was the reason for such a wicked reaction made her squirm in her place. Suddenly she realised that her pants lay in a heap in the corner with his. Her knickers were still on, though, but Draco's fingers were grazing her treacherously close to her core.

She pulled down her boxers and felt the length of his grow even harder if that was possible. She moaned just from the feel of his silken pulsating cock in her hand. She grabbed his girth and started stroking him and rubbing her thumb at the weeping wet tip of his penis. He groaned and pushed her back, a little of the table. He was glad for the height of the table, which was much higher than that of a bed's.

He pushed aside her knickers and felt up her soaking wet slit. He had barely touched her there but she was already ready to take him in. The thought made him feel like a savage beast that just wanted to devour her all day and all night. He rubbed against her nether lips before finding the bud at the apex. As he rubbed her clit, she stroked him harder. Both were now kissing as if their lives depended on it.

He replaced the finger on her clit with his thumb and sunk his forefinger into her throbbing core, slowly. Hermione groaned as her entire body tensed up with the feel of his finger inside her, exploring, searching and rubbing against her g-spot. She had stopped stroking him and was now simply grazing her thumb against his tip, driving him crazy. Draco decided that he had to tease her more in return, so he slowly pushed another digit into her now leaking crevice. Her inner thighs were wet with the evidence of her arousal, the same way how Hermione's hand was now coated with his precum.

Draco was pushing in his fingers at an agonizingly slow pace. Hermione wanted more. She wanted him inside her, and so badly did she need it! But she remembered her resolve to make him feel special today. Right before he added another finger, as Hermione was expecting, Draco pulled out his fingers. Hermione sighed at the loss of touch she felt suddenly. He looked her in the eye and then licked all her juices off his fingers. Every single drop of it and then hummed in joy as if he had just tasted ambrosia. But, to him, Hermione's nectar was exactly that.

Hermione swooned at the way he licked her juices off himself, like a preening Wampus or Lion. Before he could make her anymore dizzy with desire, Hermione acted quickly and slid down the table. Draco looked at her confused at first, and then with wide eyes as she moved her head between his legs and took his aching cock in her hands. She looked up at him, directly meeting his gaze, as she gave a first shy lick to the slit on his penis. The shudder that Draco felt boosted her confidence and she felt her vixen side come alive. She kissed the tip as if making out with it and then suddenly started sucking on it lightly.

Draco was trying very hard to not hold her head and simply drive himself into her mouth again and again until he came in her mouth. She softly kissed it again, before looking at him again and taking him in her mouth. Draco had never seen such an erotic site in his life before. He had had his fair share of conquests around the world, but the sight of Hermione Granger, _his_ Hermione Granger, on her knees in front of him, with his cock in her mouth, was otherworldly. The fact that she had crazy sex hair and her breasts & aching pussy were on display for his eyes only made any amount of self-control even more unachievable.

She soon started bobbing her head on him and was blowing him hard. He almost came many times, but he wanted to hold out as long as he could. The way she was going, he really doubted he would last long enough.

"Hermione, if you don't stop I'll cum in your mouth!" he warned with a groan.

She brazenly looked at him and said, "Then do it." as her lips wrapped around his penis once again. Draco almost came at her words, but that gave him an idea. With a lot of determination, he pushed her back and picked her up. While he was completely naked, she still had her knickers on. He took care of the fact and led them to the sofa where he lied down first and then asked Hermione to sit on her knees, hovering over him facing away from him.

Hermione was confused at first but once he adjusted them as he wanted, she understood it all. He out them in the infamous sixty-nine position! No guy had ever done it to her before especially not when she was paying so much attention to them!

Soon she felt him spread her nether lips and blow in there. She had tasted his heady musk scent which was purely Draco. Now once again, he could smell the fragrance that was completely Hermione and Hermione alone. He licked along her slit before rubbing her nub with his thumb. On the other hand, Hermione started to tremble with his explorations as she kissed his weeping cock once more.

He pried a finger into her core and took it out to taste her. Once he knew she was wet and wanton, he plunged his tongue as deep into her pussy as it would go. He pushed in and pulled out his tongue at a rhythm with his thumb that was flicking her clit. She was sucking him at the same pace which kept on increasing as their breaths started to hitch and their bodies were sweating.

She took him in completely in her mouth, as deep as she could and he plunged into her core with his tongue and licked and felt her insides. She kept on stroking and kissing his member, occasionally moaning in delight to his ministrations. He the plunged a long finger into her wet core and his tongue replaced the thumb at the clit. He kept fucking her with his finger while he sucked her clit. He could feel that he was very close to his climax and so was she if the pulsating walls of her vagina were anything to go by.

"Come for me, Hermione." He said as he sucked on her clit real hard and bit down there with his lips. Hermione screamed his name as she spasmed around his finger. Just as she went over the edge, Draco felt himself explode against her fingers and on her torso. He could see her still licking him clean. That sight was enough to be a turn on despite his climax.

After a while, both lay wrapped in each other's naked arms after a spell of _Scourgify._

Right then, the Floo burst into flames and in walked two very embarrassed looking wizards, Harry and Blaise.

"My eyes!" Blaise screamed dramatically. Draco lunged for his coat that was on the floor in trying to cover some of their modesty. He summoned Hermione's coat for her and covered her up even before he covered himself.

Harry stood there with his hands covering his eyes even though he had turned away to face the Floo.

"We thought you guys had a fight, the way Ginny probably hexed you. So we wanted to make sure you had not made Hermione unhappy or anything." Harry said.

"We had no idea how happy you were making her mate. We wouldn't have come or else. So we will leave now. Ew." Blaise said as he dragged Harry back to the Floo and disappeared.

As embarrassing as it was, the two burst out laughing at their friend's reactions.

"Ginny hexed you?" Hermione asked smiling, cuddling into his arms.

"A nasty Bat-Bogey Hex she has. But don't worry, I didn't come here because she threatened me. I came because I was scared to admit that I love you, but she just made me see sense."

"So what does that make us now? Boyfriend-girlfriend? Lovers? Nemesis with benefits?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at the last one. "You'll know at the Ball, but I guess it's safe to say you are mine. I don't want any McLaggen stealing you away from me."

"Trust me McLaggen is never stealing me away from anybody. Not even from Snape if he were alive!"

"Hey! He was my Godfather you know!" he mocked fake hurt.

"No wonder you got top marks in potions."

"Hey!" Draco's pride was clearly hurt by this point.

Hermione giggled and gave him a soft kiss. "I am yours don't worry. No McLaggen or Godfather is stealing me away, but that also means you are mine, okay?"

Draco replied with another kiss that made both of them swoon as Hermione felt Draco's arousal stir up again.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **I really hope you liked this! And this note is specially for the wonderful reviewrs! I persona;;y only read stories once they are completed because at time authors just put them on hold indefinitely and then I lose my mind like OMG NOW WHAT! So thank to all the people who have reviewed, followed and favourite the story! This was my first ever fanfic and I am truly encouraged to write more! However it all maybe not fanfic as I have a few plots based on original storylines. In case any of you feel like reading any of my other works, you can find me on Wattpad as 'thisgirlisfeisty'. I also post the artworks and relevant images that I have created for this story on Wattpad. There are all the dresses they wore, the places they visited, the important incidents that have happened, all visualised collectively on Wattpad.  
Link: **__**user/thisgirlisfeisty**_

 _ **This is the second last chapter to the story. I will post the last on the 14th**_ _ **h**_ _ **as promised. I can't believe how amazing this journey has been. I know my story has a lot of typos, which irk me a lot, but I try to fix them as much as I can usually. I will edit it all out soon.  
**_

 _ **Thank you for sticking by me everyone! And WhiteSpawn this is for being amazing and understanding why exactly this misunderstanding was needed between them!And a huge thank you for such a heartfelt review since I can't leave messages to guest reviewers!  
I did not want to it to seem simply lust driven and wanted to make the readers understand why they love each other as they do in this story. I love the stories with sexual chemistry but often they lose out on plotlines, but I hope I haven't let down anyone in that aspect? If I have please feel free to share!  
Also, last thing, I have not forgotten about Adelia and Silvius so stay tuned for the 14th although am itching to post it sooner!**_

 _ **An Epilogue may or may not follow. Not sure yet.**_

 _ **But keep the love flowing!**_

 _ **A BIG THANK YOU!**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Mili**_


	26. Le Début

A very hassled Ginny was fumbling around with her own dress when Hermione groaned in frustration.

"I cannot do this. Not even for Malfoy!" the brunette said in an irritable tone, tugging and pulling at her hair.

"You clearly should have been paying more attention when Lavender was teaching us these spells." the pregnant witch chided.

"Well. Fine."

Ginny chuckled and helped Hermione put up her hair. They had both decided to get ready at Hermione's flat. Hermione would have needed some help and Ginny wanted to surprise Harry for a change, for it was rather boring to attend parties when your husband had seen you in dirty pajamas right before you decided to turn into a bewitching version of yourself. So now both Draco and Harry were due to meet the witches and take them to the ball sharp at half past six.

Now that she was ready, she was feeling impatient and was constantly trying to either fix the dress or the cushions or even the curtains, much to Ginny's chagrin who had now developed a migraine by just watching the other witch.

Ginny finally decided to state her annoyance. "Will you stop fretting?"

Hermione knew better than to annoy a hormonal Ginny; Harry had warned her of course. Despite all that, Hermione had said thanks and enveloped Ginny in a tight embrace the moment she had arrived at the flat. For if not for Ginny, Draco and Hermione would probably never profess their love for each other. Ginny had wept tears of happiness, which in turn made Hermione feel emotional about how all their lives were now changing.

Ginny had convinced Hermione to purchase the gown that made her look like Gryffindor princess that she truly is. Her gown was a strapless number with a deep maroon ombre that merged into black towards the top and hem. It had a sweetheart neckline that perfectly complemented her decolletage and the material wrapped itself and was tucked on the right to show off her slim waistline. It began as a dark shade, bled into a deep maroon, and finally, as it descended upon her legs, the flowing silhouette turned into a crimson black.

The earrings that Narcissa had sent across glimmered green on her ears, a stark contrast against her Gryffindor inspired dress. She had decided to wear them tonight for the occasion to make Narcissa happy before returning them to her the next day. She wore no other jewellery and with her hair all tucked into an elegant updo, courtesy Ginny, she looked elegant, classy and ravishing all at once. Draco Malfoy would have approved a hundred times over.

Suddenly with a pop, the gentlemen appeared. Harry wore a smart tailored suit, with a pocket square to compliment Ginny's lavender dress. Her dress had small cap sleeves on them and the soft material hugged her at the top and then gracefully fell over her baby bump, almost hiding it at first glance. Ginny Weasley was a proud mama-to-be, but this dress had made her fall in love at first sight and she just could not resist the impulse to buy it.

Draco could not take his eyes off Hermione. While Harry moved towards his wife to give her a kiss, Draco stood at the fireplace looking dazed. She not only looked radiant, but she looked sexy and every bit the powerful and clever witch that she was. Hermione inched towards Draco and gently closed his gaping mouth with her hand.

"We don't want you to swallow any flies now, do we?" she asked feigning innocence.

Draco gulped and before Harry and Ginny could turn their way, scooped his witch into his arms and stole a kiss that left her breathless and wanting for more. They broke apart when Harry cleared his throat to get their attention. The Slytherin Prince and Gryffindor Princess stood blushing at the Fireplace looking like two teenagers caught snogging in the hallway by Professor McGonagall. Ginny chuckled as she pulled Harry to join them as they Flooed to the manor one by one. Butterbeer wasn't pleased to share his human with another as he sat judging them beside the sofa. But he was slowly getting used to all the attention that the blonde human would give his mistress because it made her happy and that in turn made Hermione happy enough to feed him more and scratch him more.

They appeared in the fireplace in the library at the Manor. Hermione smiled at all the memories she had of being here with Draco a few centuries ago! How surreal could life be! She might have spent more than half her life as a witch, but the possibilities never ceased to amaze her still. Draco held out his arm for her to hold as Ginny and Harry followed them out through the endless maze of hallways at the Manor. Hermione was almost tempted to ask Draco if they could take the secret passages that they had used back in time. All those memories from an era gone by flooded her mind. She felt like she had already spent a lifetime with Draco Malfoy, and it was a rather happy one at that. She could not help but smile at the warm feeling that bubbled up in her chest at the thought.

Finally, after their third or fourth turn, they reached a much larger and grander hallway where guests were appearing through a fireplace and a side entrance from the gardens. This entire hallway was done up in gorgeous decorations of black, mahogany and gold. The burst of colour was so rich and royal, Hermione briefly wondered if Narcissa had probably borrowed anything from the British Royal Household! Long tables with dark drapes welcomed guests with some light drinks and appetisers, a magnificent ice sculpture of dragon stood in the middle, proudly showing its beauty. It must have been enchanted with a cooling charm because it was showing no evidence of melting in the rising heat as the number of guests swelled.

Finally, they made it to a set of gilded doors. Doors that could put Ghiberti's Gate of Paradise at the Florence Baptistery to shame. The doors depicted stories from long ago. Long before Merlin was there, long before Hogwarts was created, but only when magic was enough.

Hermione was itching to ask Draco about what those images meant, but decided it was for another time as she entered the hall behind the Potters. A happy looking elf announced the arrival of the Potters to the ball but asked both Draco and Hermione to wait till he could assemble everybody inside as Narcissa wanted to announce their entry and make it grand. Draco almost groaned at his Mother's need for theatrics and Hermione wanted to go hide somewhere but landed up comforting a mildly irritated Draco instead.

Once everyone was inside and looked at a radiant looking Narcissa standing near the doors, she began.

"Today, I am extremely proud and happy to host this ball to honour my brave, brave son, Draco and the ever brave and brilliant, Hermione!" Narcissa sounded so proud that the couple felt enveloped in her pride and happiness.

They walked in, with Hermione looping her arm through Draco's. A thunderous applause swept the room as they crossed the threshold. They took in the huge crowd that stood in front of them, all faces beaming at them. This felt a lot like the ball that the Ministry had organised to mark the first anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, yet it seemed a lifetime ago to Hermione. The two boys she had walked in with then, stood in front of her today, clapping for her like proud maniacs. The loneliest and most misunderstood grieving boy back then, stood tall and proud next to her as the brave man she now loved.  
She loved him. It wasn't a grand revelation to her. She had known it for a while now but just needed to come to terms with it until now. It wasn't a feeling that had washed over her suddenly. Rather, it was something that crept under her skin and grew upon her gradually and slowly. The feeling didn't surprise her. Instead, it made her feel liberated to openly be able to accept it to herself finally.

Tall windows overlooked the gardens where fairies lit up the bushes, making it all look like a beautiful night time scenery. Dark drapes hung from the gilded ceiling which had frescos within gilded panels. A large chandelier hung proudly from the centre of the room and one could have probably seen their own faces from the polish on the floor. A majestic marble fireplace stood in the centre of the tall windows and added to the charm of the ornate Malfoy ballroom.

Draco sensed how Hermione must be feeling overwhelmed because he was feeling the same. He quietly murmured, "I love you." as an assurance. The smile and blush that crept on her face as she replied, "Me too." was enough for him to be happy for the night.

Draco had murmured sweet nothings and dirty little things into her ears all night. Couples were dancing on the floor and no matter how rude it may have looked, Draco did not let anyone else steal Hermione's dance from him except for their school mates and the former Order members. He even danced with his Mother, which made her tear up with some pent up emotions. He did not quite understand women, but the fact that Hermione wore the earrings she gifted her had deeply touched the elder Malfoy. And with all honest humility, Hermione had, not surprisingly, volunteered to return them post the dance.

Once everyone had had a little too much to drink and with their bellies all filled, the night got a little more casual with everyone just enjoying the ball however they wished to. Long gone were the days of being prime and proper at all times in a pureblood household. Now, it was seen as rude behaviour.

Once Draco was sure that even Harry and Blaise were too caught up to pay any attention to them, he sneaked Hermione out to the gardens. After walking a substantial amount, Hermione's ankles had now started to ache in the heels that she was wearing.

"I can't walk anymore Draco! My feet hurt! Why can't we just stop here?" she pleaded.

Draco had not uttered a single word ever since they left the ballroom, which had greatly unsettled Hermione.

He let go of her hand that he was holding and walked behind her. In one swooping motion, he had picked her up bridal style and despite her protests, just smirked at her as he kept walking.

"What the hell Draco Malfoy! Put. Me. Down!"

"In a bit." he smirked without even looking at the angry witch in his arms.

Hermione's fury was no match for his Seeker arms so she finally settled for grumbling in his arms instead. She then noticed how the sky seemed to be devoid of any clouds and what a beautiful sight it was to see the sky fill up with stars!

A while later, Draco gently dropped Hermione to her feet.  
He took her hand in his and looked intently into her eyes. Hermione could feel her heartbeat pick up pace.

"Hermione?"

She nodded with wide eyes staring back at him.

"Promise me?"

"Promise you what?"

"That you will not question what I do in the next ten minutes?"

"You cannot kidnap me to ravish me!" she said appalled.

"No, that's not why I brought you here! I wouldn't kidnap you if I wanted to ravage you. I prefer seduction to kidnapping Hermione!"

She looked down sheepishly, "Oh. Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"You can do whatever you want in the next ten minutes." she said blushing.

"You trust me, don't you?" he asked with gullible molten silver eyes boring into her honey coloured ones.

"With more than just my life." she said without a moment of hesitation. That seemed to give Draco the boost of confidence that he needed. With that, he pulled out his wand from under his robes and before Hermione could react, cast a spell around them.

A silver ray shot out of Draco's wand and created a large sphere around them as if trapping them within a large life-size snow globe. Hermione looked on in awe as the sphere around them shimmered and as more sparks flew out of Draco's wand. He held her hand in his as the sparks surrounded them both.

Soon Hermione found herself standing in the Malfoy Manor, but on a different day. It was broad daylight with looming dark clouds in the sky. The Manor looked as imposing as ever.

Hermione gasped as she took in the clothes that they were wearing. She was now wrapped in a red gown with short sleeves and Draco stood in much old-fashioned wizard's robes.

"You made us travel back in time! Draco you know we shouldn't..." but the witch was quickly shushed as Draco put his finger to her lips.

"It's just an illusion. Something I borrowed from Weasley Wizard Wheezes' Live this life storybooks. We are living a moment of the time where we fell in love."

"Oh." Hermione asked. She reached up, to kiss him because she did not know how else to understand what he had done for her. This had her feeling all warm and giddy inside and all she could think of was how she wanted to wrap her hands around him and kiss him senseless to show her appreciation. But before she could do that, Draco stopped her.

Hermione looked at him puzzled. The young Malfoy suddenly looked a lot like the young nervous ball of nerves that he had been after his release from the Wizengamot after the war. 'What was troubling him?' she thought.

Draco snapped his fingers and took a step back. His eyes never left hers as he knelt down and sat on one knee.

He sat there for a while and all Hermione could think of was the sudden burst of butterflies in her stomach and jittery nerves that were making her heart hammer in her chest.

Draco spoke after a moment.

"Hermione, I am so glad for the day I was called into Kingsley's office for this assignment that brought us together. I am also glad for the day you were born as a witch, else it would have taken me much longer to find you in the Muggle world.  
Yes, longer, but I would still only find you.  
I would only want you without even knowing you because now that I have you, I know what it would be like to look for you everywhere. Even if you were a simple muggle, I would have loved you as crazily as I do. I have spent almost a lifetime trying to relearn things about you.  
Back at Hogwarts, I knew your schedule, your habits, your mannerisms, but now I gradually got to know your soul.  
I am glad for Adelia and Silvius' magic, even though we have no idea where they might be. Their magic took us back in time and showed me what I would have missed out on if I did not have you in my life.  
I love you, Hermione Jean Granger, I really do. I have spent several lifetimes; one while at Hogwarts being horrible to you, another in getting to know you, and now a third chance that I was given to have you.  
I thought long and hard and by convention, it may seem odd and absurd, but Hermione will you be my real bride this time? My wife for all our lives? Will you marry me?"

By the end of his speech, Hermione had welled up. Draco pulled out a rich and elegant looking jewellery box from his pockets and opened it to reveal the ring that she had worn back in time as his bride. She gasped, her tears were waiting to fall when she smiled at him through her happy eyes and managed to squeak a yes.

"I thought it was only right that this ring belongs to you again, rightfully this time."

Hermione squeaked a yes before Draco managed to push the ring onto her left ring finger. She looked at the ring to let the reality sink in when she noticed the stone in the middle. It was a beautiful ruby, shining in the middle of a band of emeralds. She looked up at Draco who was now standing with her.

"A Malfoy bride with Gryffindor pride." he said a little too poetically for his own liking. But he would be lying if he said he had not thought about how to explain it to her easily.

Hermione lunged at him and kissed him passionately. With their moans, the clouds also descended upon them and soon it was raining all around the hungrily kissing newly engaged couple.

Soon the sphere's spell around them wore off and they back in the Malfoy gardens in the present times in their clothes, yet the feel of the engagement ring that sat on her finger now felt different, more powerful, more real.

"I found this next to the ring in the vault." Draco said in a somber tone.

Draco handed her a small envelope from within his pockets. In a neat cursive handwriting, the letter was addressed to the two of them. On the right-hand bottom corner were the two initials from the senders.

 _A.M. & S.M._

Realisation hit her like a ton of bricks! There was a single line written near the opening in the envelope.

 _Only open this when you need the ring for Hermione, and open it with her._

Adelia and Silvius had either been through this time recently or were here! She looked at Draco who encouraged her to open the letter. With nimble fingers, she pried open the envelope and took out the letter from within.

 _Dearest Draco & Hermione,_

 _Congratulations for we assume you are reading this letter after Draco has already asked you to be his wife! You both should have no doubts about how suited you are for each other even through different time periods._

 _We are extremely sorry for creating this inconvenience, however, we are not sorry at the same time as it brought you together._

 _Destroy or hide this letter if you want to keep it for I am about to divulge our biggest secret to you._

 _We travel through time with those earrings. However, we can never go beyond your time and never before our own._

 _Adelia and I were blessed with a baby son. He has the signature Malfoy blonde hair, but his eyes are a pristine blue like his mother's. He is young, so until he grows up, we shall move around and until we feel the need to settle with him, we shall continue with our travels._

 _Thank you for understanding us and for being a beacon of are extremely proud of you all, especially you Draco._

 _Now we shall have to bid adieu. Stay safe. Take good care of each other and congratulations!_

 _-Eos, Adelia & Silvius Malfoy_

 _P.S. You should probably keep an eye on the family tapestry._

The two young lovers held hands as they raced back to the Malfoy Manor and up to the tapestry. An elf was at their heels, trying to keep pace.

Once they reached the tapestry, Draco Malfoy found Silvius's name back on the Family Tree, with Adelia and Eos mentioned with him.

"I guess it was just about the head of the family accepting their love for their names to appear here once again." Hermione reasoned.

Suddenly, Draco's eyes traced the tree to the bottom to his name on the massive silk tapestry. His eyes widened as he moved in closer to inspect if what he was seeing was correct!

Hermione beside him was tracing the names of Silvius, Adelia, and Eos and smiling to herself without realising how the tapestry has added her name besides Draco's.

"Hermione?"

She turned and smiled at Draco who looked extremely worried suddenly. "Draco? What's wrong?"

"Did we perform a protective charm?" Draco asked anxiously.

"What kind of protective spell are you talking about?" she asked before her gaze wandered where Draco's finger lingered on the family tree.

Her own name had appeared next to Draco's, but that was expected since she was his fiancée now. What shocked her more was the little empty circle that had appeared in lineage below their names.

"What does this mean?" She turned to ask Draco in a rushed voice.

"It means that a little Malfoy is on its way a lot sooner than expected."

Draco smiled softly, gauging Hermione's reaction. He knew neither of them had discussed or even thought about having children. They had just gotten engaged and a child was not on their mind, but probably in the throes of passion, both had forgotten to cast any sort of protective charms. But he could see himself adjusting to the role of a father. He had already seen the transformation in Harry, despite the fact that Ginny was yet to deliver the Potter prodigy. Draco might not know how to be a good father, but he definitely knew what not to do to be a good father. He had learned from his own Father's mistakes and the last regrets the old man had in his cell in Azkaban. Draco was willing to try and learn along the way, embrace it with open arms.  
With Hermione beside him, he could imagine learning and be doing almost anything! Nothing made him fearful anymore, not even his emotions or those of others. He no more saw them as weaknesses.

On the other hand, Hermione had recently made the decision to quit the job at the Ministry and start her Organization. An S.P.E.W. but for all kinds and forms of magical creatures and muggle rights. She had realised that she could get so much more done on her own than by the bureaucratic channels of the Ministry. She had given a notice of three months after which she had planned to take a little break and then start over. The two had discussed how she could also help Draco in his research for potion brewing for the charities he did and otherwise. This was not part of her plan. Not at all. This was a surprise completely to both of them and Hermione did not know how she felt about it.

"Hermione?" Draco said holding her hand in his. "I know there are muggle methods to uh...not have a child. We don't have to do this if you don't want. I am okay with whatever you would be fine with." he assured her.

She smiled and asked him to head back to the ball which must have been wrapping up by now. They moved at a slow pace, a sudden weight on their shoulders. Hermione thought of every possible thing. Finally, she made a decision.

Right before Draco opened the doors to the ballroom, where she was sure only their closest friends were waiting for them, she held his arm and stopped him.

She looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Draco, it will be Granger-Malfoy. Not just Malfoy. And I guess I could put my vacations to a different use to. It's not like I can't run campaigns aor brew potions with a baby in tow. If Molly could do everything with seven, including Fred and George, then I think I will be able to manage with one."

Draco realised he was holding his breath until she finished. So they were going to have a baby! He was going to be a father and Hermione would be the mother! He could barely register it all. All in the past one hour, he had acquired a fiancée and a child. It was too surreal and for the first time in Draco Malfoy's life, everything was perfect and he felt over the Moon.

He crushed Hermione in his arms and kissed her beside the gilded doors with her back pressed against a marble pillar. They were both now laughing as they kissed, hands roaming and cuddling everywhere when Ron and Harry happened to walk out of the door and made their presence felt with a collective, "Ew. Get a room you both!" and walked right back in.

They had left to go find their best friend and her boyfriend who had vanished in between the ball. Little did they know that they would stumble across their best friend snogging her fiancé and the father of her to be born kid. It was truly a strange day at the Malfoy Manor.

And nightmares for these two lovers had finally ceased as dreams of the future and of their heated escapades replaced all and every reminder of their collectively scarred past.

 _ **(A/N)**_

 _ **AND IT'S A WRAP!**_

 _ **Can't believe that 'Vexed' has come to an end. The storyline is officially over, I might put in an Epilogue for fun's sake.**_

 _ **All reviews are welcome! Even those of you who find this story much later are most welcome to leave reviews; I will definitely get back to all of you!**_

 _ **And thank you for reading it, you all! And Happy Valentine's Day! (Though I am late by a day almost)**_

 _ **And in case you really like the story apart from the beautiful characters and setup that JKR owns, the do read my stories on Wattpad. I shared the links to my Wattpad profile on my last chapter. My user names is thisgirlisfeisty on Wattpad.**_

 _ **I hope each one of you had as much fun as I had in writing this story and my favourite ship- Dramione.**_

 _ **I am going to miss the rush of waking up to crazy reviews on Vexed that made my day! But well, another story for another time perhaps.**_

 _ **Until next time (Or the Epilogue)**_

 _ **Bye and take care you all and stay as amazing!**_


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